Julius Baer has agreed to sell Wergen wealth management business

Julius Baer (BAER.S) announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell Wergen & Partner Wealth Management to its management. Julius Baer, which bought Zurich-based Wergen in February 2017, said the firm has always been profitable and has more than doubled its assets under management, but could not provide specific data.  

The acquisition price for the agreement, which is slated to finalize in the first quarter of 2022, was agreed upon by the parties.

The Swiss private bank is selling an independent wealth manager that it purchased five years ago

Zurich-based Julius Baer announced in a statement on Monday that it will sell Wergen & Partner to its management for an unknown sum. Julius Baer found that Wergen can best develop under existing management after reviewing its strategic holdings, according to the Swiss bank.

Julius Baer purchased Wergen, a Zurich-based wealth management firm, with the intention of incorporating it into its own wealth management division, WMPartners. While this brand name faded away quickly, Wergen continued to operate under its own name after its founders threatened to expel clients and advisors if they were not left alone.

What are the other stakes?

Wergen, according to Julius Baer, has always been profitable and has more than doubled its assets under management since then. Its current management team of six will "continue to serve Wergen & Partner Wealth Management Ltd clients who are booked with several custodian banks independently."

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. It's unclear what, if any, impact the strategic assessment will have on Julius Baer's other minority investments, which include a fintech in Switzerland called Nectar and a crypto bank called Seba.