International life insurer Utmost Group has announced it plans to close wealth manager AAM Advisory in Singapore.
Utmost bought AAM as part of the acquisition of Quilter International in 2021.
The insurer completed a strategic review of the AAM business and determined, because its “focus is on partner-led distribution” rather than building its own, that closure and de-authorisation is the “preferred strategic outcome”.
AAM manages over S$800m ($563m) of assets under advice, principally in third party products, on behalf of over 4,000 clients. It is expected that the closure will be finalised in 2023.
Paul Thompson, Utmost Group chief executive, said: “The closure of AAM will allow Utmost International to focus on growing our core wealth solutions business and enable us to focus on the continued development of our proposition. Our strategy is built on partner-led distribution and, in 2021, we distributed our products through over 800 distribution partners globally.
“Singapore is a key strategic market for insurance-based wealth solutions. The group remains committed to growing its presence here, as well as in the wider Asia region, where we continue to develop attractive propositions for affluent and HNW clients.
“We are grateful to the AAM staff for their hard work over the years and to our clients for their business, and we will work closely with those who are impacted by this decision to ensure a smooth transition.”
This comes as several members of AAM’s leadership team have left the business. Chief executive Eryk Lee left to take on the role of chief financial officer at Maybank Securities and vice president of wealth management Matthew Smalley has joined Tallrock Capital as managing director.
This story first appeared on our sister publication, International Adviser.
