The new name is the next step in the asset manager’s journey to becoming a standalone single-strategy business after splitting from its former parent Quilter, formerly Old Mutual Wealth.
The business will continue to operate as OMGI until the autumn, with the exact date of the renaming yet to be confirmed, the firm said in a statement.
Last week Quilter announced it had completed the sale of OMGI to the single-strategy business’s management team, led by Richard Buxton (pictured), and private equity firm TA Associates, for £583m ($775m).
The deal was finalised on 19 December last year and the economic ownership passed to the Buxton and the OMGI management team and TA Associates on 1 January this year.
The firm said the name is inspired by the “remarkable life of the scientist, artist and adventurer Maria Sibylla Merian”. Born in Frankfurt in 1647, the company said Merian is considered one of the first scientists to challenge and debunk widely believed myths about her discipline.
“We believe Merian’s pioneering achievements, willingness to challenge the status quo and sheer strength of character truly symbolise our ethos and approach to doing business,” said Buxton, according to the statement.
“Notably, the Merian name represents our core belief that investors should not be constrained by a ‘house view,’ demonstrating our understanding that investment can be considered both an art and a science.”
Old Mutual Wealth’s multi-asset business will remain part of Quilter which previously said it expects to incur aggregate costs of approximately £20m from establishing the standalone Merian business.
Merian and Quilter will continue to provide commercial services to each other for a period of up to three years.
Quilter, first announced in September 2017 its intention to separate the multi-asset and single-strategy teams of OMGI into two distinct companies.
The deal to sell the single-strategy business was finalised on 19 December last year and the economic ownership passed to the Buxton (pictured) and the OMGI management team and TA Associates on 1 January this year.
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