MUFG acquires UBS Alternative Fund Services

The Japanese bank purchased the Swiss bank’s alternative fund servicing unit, growing its assets under administration to $266 billion.

In the latest instance of consolidation in the fund administration space, MUFG Investor Services, the global asset servicing arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has completed its acquisition of UBS Asset Management’s Alternative Fund Services (AFS) business.

AFS provides professional services for private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds and funds of hedge funds.

The deal is part of MUFG’s strategy to build out its fund administration services in alternative investments and raises its total assets under administration to $266 billion across 2,300 funds.

“The asset servicing and specifically fund administration landscape is changing significantly under the pressure of increased demands from regulators, managers and investors,” said Junichi Okamoto, group head of the trust assets business group and deputy president of the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, in a statement. “As part of one of the largest banks in the world…we are in an excellent position to offer the complex solutions that clients require to continually meet these challenges.”

While financial details of the deal were not revealed, AFS is rumored to have sold for as much as 30 billion yen ($248 million; €225 million), according to reports.