AllianceBernstein and Societe Generale have launched a new joint venture focusing on global cash equities and equity research.
Named Bernstein, the move follows the original announcement to form the joint venture in November 2022.
Read more – AllianceBernstein and Societe Generale to partner on cash equities push
Bernstein will provide institutional investors, corporates and financial institutions with investment insights into North America, European and Asia Pacific equity markets, alongside liquidity access and global trading technology.
The joint venture will enable Societe Generale to offer its clients a suite of global services across the equities value-chain, ranging from equity and macro research to agency execution, equity derivatives, prime brokerage and equity capital markets offerings.
With over 750 employees serving clients worldwide, Bernstein is organised under two separate legal vehicles with a head office in New York which will cover North America, as well as a head office in London, covering Europe and Asia. This will also be complemented by major hubs in Paris and Hong Kong, and various regional offices.
In a joint statement the two firms stated that the ultimate objective is for Societe Generale to eventually own 100% of both entities after five years.
“With Bernstein, a new leader is emerging in cash equities,” said Slawomir Krupa, chief executive of Societe Generale.
“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.”
Previous chief executive of Bernstein Research Services, Robert van Brugge, has been appointed chief executive of Bernstein.
Elsewhere, Stephane Loiseau, previously head of Societe Generale’s cash equities business, has been appointed deputy CEO of Bernstein.
“Bernstein’s mission has a foundation rooted in servicing clients with best-in-class research and insights,” said Seth Bernstein, chief executive of AllianceBernstein.
“Through this joint venture, Bernstein can continue to build out a cash equities and research business that seeks to set the standard for delivering global investment expertise and an even stronger set of products and services for global clients.”
The closing of the transaction has been approved by the relevant regulatory and antitrust authorities.