Shareholders Service boss: We're not for sale

Shareholders Service Group Inc. isn't for sale, according to Peter Mangan, chief executive of the small custodian. That isn't really news, but it is something that he thought that the firm's registered investment advisers needed to hear. “People wonder, what are our plans for the future?” Mr. Mangan said last week at SSG's inaugural conference in San Diego. “What's our exit strategy?” If anyone is wondering, “we're not for sale,” Mr. Mangan said. SSG plans to stick around and continue serving its niche market of smaller and startup RIAs. Financial advisers are “looking for consistency,”said Dan Skiles, SSG's executive vice president. “They don't want to worry about an an-nouncement next week at SSG about a big change” in management or ownership, he said. “We've been ap-proached by big companies to entertain offers,” Mr. Mangan told attendees. “But we never let them in the door.” SSG is owned and operated by its employees. “We're private and intend to stay private,” Mr. Mangan said. For many of the 300 advisers at the event, the company's first-ever conference was the first opportunity that they have had to meet SSG employees. Only about 10% of the firm's nearly 1,000 advisers have made a home office visit, Mr. Mangan said in an interview. The company's RIAs manage almost $4 billion. SSG was started in 2002 by Mr. Mangan and Robert Reed, executive vice president. Both are former executives of Jack White & Co., which was acquired in 1998 by TD Waterhouse, now TD Ameritrade Inc. djamieson@investmentnews.com