Advised Durham, NC-based Smith Breeden Associates on its sale to Paris-based Amundi, a leading European asset management firm.  With $6.4 billion in assets under management, Smith Breeden is an institutional asset management firm specializing in the major US fixed income sectors.  The relationship with Amundi will provide Smith Breeden with access to Amundi’s worldwide institutional client base as well as its global investment, research, client servicing and operating resources.  Amundi gains asset management expertise in US fixed income, which it will offer to its institutional and corporate clients in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Advised Nationwide Financial on the acquisition of 17 equity and bond mutual funds with a combined AUM of approximately $3.6 billion from HighMark Capital Management, Inc.  The deal will enable Nationwide to offer a wider array of investment offerings to financial advisors and their clients.  It will also refine HighMark’s strategy and allow the company to focus on growing its core business of providing asset management services to institutional and high net worth clients.  HighMark will become the subadvisor for the successors to the nine funds that it currently manages, and Nationwide will retain the existing subadvisory agreements on the other eight funds.  HighMark is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Union Bank, N.A.

Advised New York City-based Reich & Tang Asset Management, LLC on the acquisition of five money market funds with a combined AUM of over $4.0 billion from HighMark Capital Management, Inc.  The acquisition will provide HighMark Fund shareholders with immediate cost benefits and integration into a highly stable, diversified client base as well as access to one of the industry’s longest-tenured and time tested mutual fund advisors.  The acquisition is consistent with Reich & Tang’s strategic growth plans, adding to the company’s already diversified money market mutual fund offerings.  Reich & Tang is a subsidiary of Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A., while HighMark is wholly-owned by Union Bank, N.A.

Advised Madison, NJ-based Brinton Eaton Associates on the sale of a majority interest to Leawood, KS-based Mariner Wealth Advisors. With approximately $700 million of assets under management, Brinton Eaton gains additional support and resources from Mariner, allowing its existing advisors to devote more time to managing client relationships. The addition of 13 professionals is in line with Mariner’s plan to expand its national footprint. Concurrent with this transaction, Montage Investments, another Mariner Holdings affiliate, has added Brinton Eaton’s mutual fund, The Giralda Fund, to its suite of mutual funds.

Initiated Mariner Wealth Advisors’ acquisition of RiverPoint Capital Management, a $1.3 billion wealth manager located in Cincinnati, OH. The transaction will add 17 wealth management professionals, including eight advisors, to Mariner’s network – in line with Mariner’s goal to build a nationwide team of advisors to support its clients throughout the country. RiverPoint will maintain its name and service philosophy.

Advised Minneapolis-based Riverbridge Partners on the sale of approximately 58% of the firm’s equity to London-based Northill Capital. With $4.0 billion of assets under management, Riverbridge manages small-, mid- and large-cap US equity growth portfolios on behalf of institutional and high net worth clients. The transaction with Northill will provide a succession plan for Riverbridge’s management team while allowing the firm to remain employee-owned and broaden its equity ownership to the next generation. The transaction is in line with Northill’s stated strategy to build a diversified portfolio of high quality investment businesses.

Advised Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp on the sale of its money market funds to Federated Investors, one of the nation’s largest investment managers. The sale of the four funds, which had approximately $5 billion of assets under management, creates a relationship between the two institutions and provides the Bank with an opportunity to offer a broader choice of investment products. The transaction helps bolster Federated’s status as a leading provider of money market funds.

Advised Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp on the sale of 16 mutual funds to Touchstone Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group. The sale will allow Fifth Third Asset Management to focus on its core capabilities of providing institutionally managed active asset management strategies. The transaction will increase Touchstone’s assets under management to $13 billion and create new sub-advisory relationships with the Bank.

Advised Talon Asset Management, a premier Chicago-based private client manager, on the sale of its hedge fund and private equity businesses, which have over $300 million in combined AUM, to the respective management teams. Earlier in the month, Talon sold its wealth management business, which did not include these funds, to BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Advised Talon Asset Management, a premier Chicago-based private client manager, on the sale of its wealth management operations with over $800 million in assets under management to BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Talon’s partnership with BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, provides its clients with broader global asset management, private banking and wealth planning services in addition to expanded access to alternative investment opportunities. The transaction provides BNY Mellon Wealth Management increased access to the nation’s third largest wealth market, fulfilling part of its national and global expansion strategy.

As part of Ashmore’s acquisition of a majority interest in Emerging Markets Management, L.L.C. (“EMM”), Amundi Asset Management has sold its 11.5% interest in EMM. With approximately $10.4 billion of institutional assets under management and a history dating back to 1987, EMM has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading managers of emerging markets equities. The acquisition fulfills Ashmore’s stated goal of expanding its product offering and also further diversifies its client base by both geography and client type. Amundi successfully exits an investment made by Crédit Agricole in 1996.