Former Banker Launches $60 Billion Wealth Firm Through SPAC Merger and Acquisition

Michael Tiedemann left his job on Wall Street over 20 years ago to start a wealth management company that caters to the world’s wealthiest people.

The former Credit Suisse First Boston executive has grown his business in recent years by partnering with or backing buyouts of overseas rivals. Now, after completing a merger last week with Alvarium Investments through a blank-check company, he is eyeing further deals.

He's not alone in his hesitance among investors on Wall Street; many are waiting to see how the economy and markets will develop in the next few months as the future remains unclear.

"We will have opportunities for growth through acquisitions," Tiedemann said in an interview. "The timeframe for these opportunities is difficult to predict, but we are always on the lookout for ways to grow our business."

Tiedemann and Alvarium completed their merger through Cartesian Growth Corp. That came after navigating the market for special purpose acquisition companies, which has undergone a reversal following the pandemic.

There were a record number of mergers that were called off in 2022.

Alvarium Tiedemann, one of the world's largest publicly traded wealth management firms, was created through the merger of two firms with $30 billion in assets each. The company focuses on providing services to ultra-wealthy individuals.

Since the combined company's shares began trading in New York on January 4, they have sunk as much as 46%, highlighting the volatility of SPAC deals. At 12:09 p.m., the shares were down 8% to $8.74. Still, Tiedemann said he and his partners, along with their investors, favored the structure because they weren't looking to offload stock. Members of Qatar's ruling dynasty, the Al-Thani family, are among Alvarium's investors, UK filings show.

Tiedemann, who previously led Credit Suisse First Boston's sales trading for Latin America, said that the company is committed to building a long-term relationship with its SPAC partners. He added that the company believes that the environment for SPACs is going to become more challenging in the future.

The competition to manage the wealth of super-rich customers has increased in recent years, with Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. expanding their private banking operations outside the US. Tiedemann said that being a listed business would be a way to boost hiring.

"Equitizing employees is another tool we can use to compete with global banks," he said. "We feel we have a superior client offering."

Tiedemann is targeting investments in real estate companies and alternative-asset managers. The firm partly grew out of a multimanager hedge fund business set up by his father Carl, a former president of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

In 2000, Tiedemann teamed up with his father to build a wealth adviser. The company eventually expanded to about a dozen offices across the US. In 2019, Tiedemann branched out internationally through a joint venture with another former Credit Suisse banker’s Swiss wealth firm. The venture bought London multifamily office Holbein Partners two years later.

Alavarium is a multifamily office that provides wealth and asset management services. It was established in 2009 and has since expanded by investing in other businesses, such as French asset manager Iskander and New Zealand ethical investment firm Pathfinder.

"It's rare to find a group of people who fit together so well," Tiedemann said.

Tiedemann, who said he never thought he’d be running a publicly traded business when he quit banking, is scheduled to ring Nasdaq’s opening bell on Thursday. This comes more than two years after the possibility of combining his business with Alvarium was first broached. Alvarium is the Latin word for hive.

"We have to prove ourselves this year," he said. "We've done that as a private company and now it's our opportunity and obligation to prove we are going to be an exciting public company."