Watson Wilkins & Brown, LLC, to cease investment management & advisory operations
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at 11:42AM Watson Wilkins & Brown, LLC, will terminate its investment advisory & management activities effective close of business Dec. 17, 2018. The decision was motivated by various factors.
The regulatory framework will continue to become more burdensome, complex, and expensive. Additionally, the footprint and complexity of technology will expand and as a consequence of both innovation and regulatory requirement. While the cost of the technology may be more tame, the rate of change will only increase. Both are costly in terms of time & dollars, and both favor firms of larger scale.
We thought about acquiring or merging with another firm, but it was a very short think. We are tempermentally unsuited to subordinate our judgement to others in respect of investment strategy for our clients, nor would we consider monetizing our client relationships. By experience and observation we were skeptical of acquiring potential legacy liabilities.
We found that as the business grew, so did our regulatory burden and key person risk, and no satisfactory strategic resolution eventuated.
It has been a pleasure to have served our clients.