(Bloomberg) — Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is further expanding into the rapidly growing retail property market by acquiring Sagittarius technology firm to handle the infrastructure and delivery of managed accounts for financial advisors and their clients.
The acquisition of Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Archer will also help BNY market its investment strategies and custody banking business, according to a statement on Thursday. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval. Terms were not disclosed.
“Managed accounts — and particularly managed retail accounts — are one of the fastest-growing products in the asset management industry,” Emily Portney, BNY's global head of asset servicing, said in an interview.
The biggest money managers are increasingly focusing on the US wealth market, partnering with or acquiring technologies and firms to deliver managed accounts, model portfolios and private assets to wealthy clients. The U.S. retail managed account business is projected to grow to more than $8 trillion by 2027 from almost $5 trillion last year, according to BNY's analysis of data from Cerulli Associates.
Archer was founded in 2000 to help investment managers transfer technology and operations to the middle and back office. Asset managers use its technology for accounting, data reporting and transaction reconciliation, and then it connects with banks and investment platforms that distribute financial investment strategies.
BNY had almost $50 trillion in assets under custody and administration as of June 30.