Smith Graham to Increase Assets to Nearly $6 Billion in Acquisition Deal

“They had some challenges, and with the market volatility over the past couple of years it was difficult for them to manage their cost structure,” Smith recalls. “We were approached by a banker who asked if we had an interest in acquiring the fixed income assets of the firm back in October. We had some discussion with the principles and they mentioned they had a very good small and midcap value asset team and asked if we had an interest in acquiring those assets as well.”

According to Smith, the deal will not only double the company’s assets, but also nearly triple revenues — a good thing given the abysmal condition of the financial markets. “I don’t see any major upside to the market any time soon,” Smith says. “So I think firms are just going to have to be able to operate at a different level and focus on their cost structures and managing their business in a very difficult environment for the next year or so at least.”

However, he remains upbeat about the long-term viability of the firm. “The market will come back, and we think we’ll be well positioned for that.”