Eaton Vance’s asset manager side is well known. It offers a slew of mutual funds as well as separately managed accounts. It’s wealth management firm Eaton Vance Investment Counsel (EVIC), however, has remained somewhat in the unknown, despite having AUM of $7.7 billion.
Things might be changing, however, as the wealth management side is not to come within grasping distance of the $10 billion-asset milestone due to the planned acquisition of WaterOak Advisors, which currently has $2.2 billion of AUM.
WaterOak will become part of EVIC via an asset sale, while its principals—Lemons, Stephen Curley and Scott Macaione—and their team will become employees of Eaton Vance. The deal is currently set to close on September 30, though it remains contingent on various closing conditions.
"WaterOak's capable and experienced team and its leadership position in the Florida wealth management market will add meaningfully to our growth potential," Eaton Vance Investment Counsel President David C. McCabe said in a prepared statement.
Eaton Vance Investment Counsel’s parent company sees the current environment as an opportunity to strengthen its wealth management business: “We believe the private wealth business has attractive growth prospects, and that Eaton Vance has significant competitive advantages based on Eaton Vance’s leadership in wealth management solutions and long record of client service excellence,” said a spokesman for EVIC’s parent company in a news release. “Combining with WaterOak offers the potential to develop a much larger business serving high-net-worth individuals and families in Florida and throughout the Southeast.”
WaterOak does not sell commission-based products and is a fee-only firm, but it remains to be seen if becoming part of Eaton Vance, an asset management company, will pressure the firm’s tram to use new company funds and SMAs.
