The bid by Royal Bank of Canada today 31st March 22 values Brewin at 2.8 per cent of its £55bn assets under management.  

The benchmark for all IFAs today – you now have an approximate valuation of your business.  And don’t forget that the adviser controls the flows of money in retail financial services, not the asset manager, who stands on the tennis court at the receivers’ end. 

So let’s look back at other valuations in the asset management sector, and the most recent comparator is Charles Stanley who sold out at less than half the Brewin price, to US firm Raymond James for just 1.16% of AUM.  It looked a cheap deal at the time, and looks like a steal today.  

But this is nothing to the high water mark of those heady days of the 1990’s, when we were all young and stupid.  In March 1999 Prudential paid an eye watering 10% of AUM for the business of M&G.  As records go, it does not look like being challenged any time soon.  Stay alert!  The North Americans are shopping.