European bank Societe Generale and global investment management firm AllianceBernstein have launched Bernstein, a new global cash equities and equity research business.
The joint venture, launched on April 2, was first announced in November 2022. Bernstein aims to provide institutional investors, corporates and financial institutions with premier investment insights into North American, European and Asia Pacific equity markets.
With over 750 employees serving clients globally, the joint venture is organised under two separate legal vehicles, with a head office in New York covering North America and another head office London covering Europe and Asia.
These two offices will be complemented by executives in Paris and Hong Kong, along with “multiple regional offices”, say the two parties.
The ultimate objective of Societe Generale and AllianceBernstein is for Societe Generale to eventually own 100% of both entities after five years, subject to regulatory approval.
Robert van Brugge, previously CEO of Bernstein Research Services, has been appointed CEO of Bernstein. He joined Bernstein Research Services in 2002 from McKinsey & Company, where he was an associate principal. Before joining McKinsey, Robert van Brugge served as a commercial lender with First Colonial Bankshares Corp.
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Stephane Loiseau, previously head of Societe Generale’s cash equities business, has been appointed deputy CEO of Bernstein. Loiseau joined Societe Generale in 1996 as an international equities trader in New York, before becoming co-head of global program trading and electronic services in 2006. He has held various positions supervising cash equities, prime sales and listed derivatives trading, and was once based out of Hong Kong.
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Slawomir Krupa, CEO of Societe Generale, says Bernstein is a new emerging leader in cash equities. “This joint venture illustrates Societe Generale’s capability to develop innovative pathways to further expand our client offering as we increase our value proposition for the benefit of our investor and issuer clients, leverage synergies within our group, and grow our revenues sustainably.”
The closing of the transaction has been approved by the relevant regulatory and antitrust authorities.
Societe Generale says the launch of Bernstein is “fully aligned” with its strategic priorities to increase “stable, fee-based, client revenues”. The impact of the joint venture on the group's common equity tier-1 capital ratio is below 10 basis points.
