Microgen Financial Systems and Touchstone Wealth Management, providers of technology to the trust, fund and corporate services market, have announced that they are to merge. The transaction, subject to competition authority approval, is expected to complete within five weeks.
The two businesses have a combined client base of around 15,000 users and 500 clients. As a result of the merger, the firms will continue to operate as two separate divisions, investing in their core products – Touchstone's NavOne and Microgen's 5Series.
The merger follows the acquisition in July of Microgen Financial Systems from Aptitude Software Group by Silverfleet Capital. Microgen is based in the UK but has offices in Guernsey, while Touchstone was established in Jersey over 20 years ago as software provider Landsteinar.
Keith Hale, former CEO of fund administration software provider Multifonds, will join the new company as Executive Chairman. Meanwhile, Microgen CEO Robert Browning and Touchstone MD Peter Le Brocq will continue to lead their firms and will sit on the merged company's board.
Browning and Le Brocq issued a comment on the merger of the businesses. "The fiduciary, trust and corporate services markets we have been serving for many years are going through a once-in-a-generation change. The industry continues to grow significantly and is being driven by the demand for global coverage, increased regulatory oversight, changing fee models and continuing cost pressure.
"As a result, we recognise the need to deliver flexible cross-jurisdictional technology to support the regulatory agenda, data insights and automation that will be critical to providers.
"We now have a combined team of over 150 people with a presence in markets including Jersey, Guernsey, Cyprus, Singapore, Australia and the UK. This merger will enable us to provide the global coverage necessary, combined with the scale to support and develop our capabilities to meet the requirements of this evolving market."