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July 21, 1998
First Union To Extend International Asset Management Capabilities With Acquisition Of Analytic-TSA International, Inc.
CHARLOTTE - Expanding its international asset management expertise, First Union Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Analytic-TSA International, Inc., a London-based, international, fixed income asset manager with approximately $100 million under management.
"The international knowledge and skill that this expansion will add to our team is critical in implementing our investment management strategy," said Don McMullen, executive vice president and head of First Union's Capital Management Group. "The three senior professionals who lead Analytic-TSA International, Inc. have worked together as a team for more than 10 years. Their experience will be available to both individual investors, through our First Investment Advisors Group, and to institutional investors, through our First Capital Group. This is an important step in building First Union's comprehensive asset management capabilities."
Analytic-TSA International, Inc. which is currently an affiliate of Analytic-TSA Global Asset Management of Los Angeles \ has five investment professionals in London, all of whom are expected to join First Union. The firm will operate under the name First International Advisors, Ltd. and will report to Alan Adelman, chief investment officer of First Investment Advisors. It will specialize in international and emerging market debt research and fixed income portfolio management for both individuals and institutional clients.
"Being part of First Union will give us the distribution and financial resources we need to grow our business," said George McNeill, Analytic-TSA International, Inc. managing director. "It's a perfect match \ First Union has the sophisticated clients, and we have the international fixed income capabilities those clients desire."
"The evolution of the European Economic Community and the European Monetary Union (EMU) is about to create unprecedented opportunities for U.S. investors in EMU countries and countries that are copying the EMU model or working toward entry into the EMU," Adelman said. "A larger and more complex debt market in Europe, combined with the significant debt restructurings beginning in the Pacific Rim, will present tremendous opportunity for those with the knowledge and experience to navigate these waters."
Analytic-TSA International, Inc.'s asset management team is particularly adept at relative-value investments managing the fluctuating valuations of interest rates, currency exchange rates and credit rates \ to the benefit of its clients. The team uses a combination of sophisticated proprietary modeling tools, fundamental research and well-developed international knowledge to manage its relative-value investments. The team also brings sophisticated multi-currency valuation, trading and client-reporting models.
The transaction is expected to close in August 1998 subject to satisfaction of the conditions of closing. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. New products and capabilities, which the transaction will provide for First Union, include:
- Separately managed international fixed income accounts for institutional investors offered through First Union's First Capital Group.
- Increased ability to serve high net worth clients through First Investment Advisors, due to Analytic-TSA International, Inc.'s range of customized, international fixed income investment products and services.
- An international fixed income mutual fund, to be sub-advised by First International Advisors, that will extend the lineup of First Union's $51 billion assets-under-management Evergreen Funds. The fund formerly was sub-advised by Analytic-TSA International, Inc. for CoreStates Investment Advisors, a subsidiary of CoreStates Financial Corp. First Union completed its acquisition of CoreStates on April 28.
First Union's Capital Management Group manages $143 billion in assets and comprises the corporation's investment and asset management services. These include First Investment Advisors and First Capital Group; Evergreen Funds, one of the nation's fastest-growing mutual fund families; First Union Brokerage Services Inc., the nation's eighth largest broker-dealer based on the number of licensed brokers; CAP, the nation's first bank-based asset management account; First Union Insurance Group; Personal Trust; Corporate and Institutional Trust; Pension Services; IRAs; Financial Planning; Private Client Group; and Women's Financial Advisory Services.
First Union is a leading provider of financial services to more than 16 million retail and corporate clients throughout the East Coast and the nation. It is the sixth-largest bank holding company in the United States, with assets of $229 billion at June 30, 1998.
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