Nucleus Takeover
Within the last month you should have received communication from Nucleus on the proposed takeover by James Hay.
A shareholder vote was due to take place on 30th March 2021; however, James Hay have postponed the vote to now seek to implement the acquisition by way of a recommended takeover, an alternative which offers greater certainty of the takeover proceeding.
Preliminary discussions have taken place between Nucleus and James Hay on the brand, culture and operating model of a combined group and further information will be supplied once agreed.
How This Affects Your Investments
In short, it doesn’t. Nucleus is a platform that we use to facilitate holding your funds and to complete transactions on your behalf. The Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM) actually manage your funds not the platform.
James Hay want to purchase Nucleus, not because they are a failing company but quite the opposite. Nucleus are a very good company and are competition for James Hay, so by combining with one of their main competitors it is giving James Hay a larger slice of the platform pie.
The main differences in the two platforms are the technology used. James Hay have recently signed a deal with FNZ (an industry leader) to facilitate their platform technology needs and Nucleus have built their platform around the requirements of the companies using it and have recently brought their technology in-house.
Typically, when platforms have been bought, they have been left on their existing technology but even if not, this would take years to implement.
About James Hay
James Hay is one the largest providers of Self Invested Personal Pensions in the UK and providers of an administration service and an investment platform to facilitate client transactions. Although their main market is retirement wealth planning, they also manage ISAs and General Investment Accounts and have been in the industry for more than 40 years. They have over 59,000 investors and manage over £27 billion.
There were one of the first SIPP providers in the UK to use a modular approach to retirement planning.
They are owned by Independent Private Equity Manager Epiris, who specialise in buyouts and recapitalisation transactions.
So, What Happens Now?
Until the deal is agreed by the shareholders and has received legal and regulatory approval nothing will happen.
Once this is approved you will receive confirmation from Nucleus of the takeover, and there will be no changes to the platform immediately following this. As mentioned previously, it is not uncommon for platforms to stay running as a separate entity, as with Elevate and Standard Life.
As always, Broom Consultants will monitor the situation and will make changes if it is deemed necessary. But as at this time, we still believe that Nucleus is the most suitable platform for facilitating our clients needs.