ROCKLAND, Mass. – Rockland Trust Co., the bank subsidiary of Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: INDB), has completed its acquisition of assets of the Lincoln-based O’Connell Investment Services Inc.
Financial terms were not disclosed. But Independent Bank Corp. said the transaction’s closing adds about $200 million to the assets under management by Rockland Trust’s Investment Management Group. The bank also gains its first investment management office in Rhode Island, as well as several former O’Connell personnel.
“We are delighted to welcome the O’Connell Investment team and their clients to Rockland Trust,” David B. Smith, chief investment officer for the bank’s Investment Management Group, and a chartered financial adviser, said in a statement last night. “This combination is a great fit, as it enables us to provide local service to our Rhode Island clients while also helping us expand into new markets.”
The telephone at the Lincoln office was being answered this morning as “Rockland Trust, formerly O’Connell Investment Services.” The firm, founded in 1993, lists six portfolio managers and four administrative personnel on its Web site (www.oconnellinvestments.com).
“Most of the folks are staying with us,” Smith, the Rockland Trust Investment Management Group spokesman, told Providence Business News in a telephone interview today. “A couple of the principals will be retiring.” Senior Portfolio Manager William B. O’Connell is among the three executives looking forward to eventual retirement, representatives of O’Connell Investment and Rockland Trust confirmed during the conference call.
“Things are going really well,” Elizabeth Doering MacKenty, CFP, a portfolio manager at O’Connell Investment Services, said during the call. “We’re really excited. We’re looking forward to continuing on with Rockland.”
The idea of a possible merger was first broached by the bank, Smith said. “We started having talks with O’Connell – specifically, Bill O’Connell – about a year ago.”
Rockland Trust had been looking “to augment our own organic growth” via an appropriate acquisition, he said, “and they have a similar investment philosophy.” The bank also liked the location in Northern Rhode Island, an area it already has targeted for expansion, Smith said.
Doering MacKenty described the merger as “enhancing the offerings to our customers.” The bank “is going to provide us with even more investment advisors,” she said, “and Rockland is a trust company, which brings increased fiduciary responsibility.”
Rockland Trust, with about $1.3 billion of assets now under management, is one of the largest independent investment advisers in southeastern New England.
The bank’s Investment Management Group, which now has a staff of more than 30, offers investment advisory, trust, custodial and other estate services from offices in Attleboro, Hanover and Osterville, Mass., plus the Lincoln office, on Blackstone Valley Place.
Now, Smith said, with the addition of O’Connell Investment Services and the prospective addition of Slades Bank in nearby southeastern Massachusetts (READ MORE), “We’re looking forward to great things in Rhode Island.”
Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: INDB) is the parent of Rockland Trust Co., a full-service community bank with $2.7 billion in assets. It has more than 50 retail banking branches, nine commercial lending centers and five mortgage origination offices in southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, plus four investment management offices. Additional information is available at www.RocklandTrust.com.
