Atram finalizes Metrobank fund management takeover

A consortium led by the ATR Asset Management (Atram) Group has finalized its takeover of the Metrobank Group’s First Metro Asset Management Inc. (Fami) in a move seen to boost the former’s position as one of the leading asset managers in the country.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Metrobank said its subsidiary, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), had executed a deed of absolute sale with ATR Financial Holdings Inc.

The Atram consortium is composed of parent firm Atram Investment Management Partners Corp. and MET Holdings Inc.

READ: Metrobank earnings reach record P35.7B in first 9 months

Atram currently has over P385 billion worth of assets under management, ranking fourth among the asset and wealth managers in the country, according to FMIC.

In October, FMIC’s board approved the sale of 1.05 million shares in Fami, representing a 70-percent stake, to the Atram Group.

FMIC said the agreement was part of a “strategic business decision to focus on the investment banking business.”

Established in 2013, Fami is the principal distributor and fund manager of First Metro Philippine Equity Exchange Traded Fund Inc., FMIC’s subsidiary that primarily invests in a basket of stocks that represent a specific index, such as the Philippine Stock Exchange Index.

Analysts said the deal would allow Atram to quickly scale up its business and increase profitability amid increasing competition from larger asset managers and trust entities.

Asset management firms typically manage specific assets for their clients, including stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities and derivatives.

Atram is likewise set to merge with the trust subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines, which will result in the creation of a single entity with over P485 billion worth of assets under management.

The Aboitiz-led bank will take a 27.5-percent ownership stake in Atram for P300 million while existing Atram shareholders will hold the remaining 72.5 percent.

According to Unionbank, the transaction will consolidate their respective trust subsidiaries, Union Bank Investment Management and Trust Corp. and Atram Trust Corp., with the latter as the surviving entity. —Meg J. Adonis