Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to sell wealth management unit Whitnell & Co. to Rockefeller Capital Management.
The $35 billion-asset Associated did not say how much Rockefeller would pay for Whitnell. But Associated said it would become Rockefeller's Midwest mortgage lending referral partner, and its Associated Trust unit will become one of the investment firm's third-party trust solutions providers.
The transaction is expected to close in March.
Associated bought Whitnell in 2017. The Oak Brook, Ill., unit manages about $1.4 billion in assets for ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Some banks have been selling their wealth management units to invest in other businesses. Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore.,
"Our organizations possess a shared appreciation of the needs and goals of our clients," Associated CEO Philip Flynn said in a Tuesday press release announcing the Whitnell sale. “This partnership positions us to leverage our core capabilities through Rockefeller's network of clients and relationships.”
Rockefeller is based in New York and manages more than $69 billion of client assets. The firm has been expanding around Chicago. The Whitnell operation will serve as its primary office in the Midwest.
