Yet even with those concerns, the antitrust probe came as a surprise to many, given the relatively small size of the deal. In announcing the close of the investigation, Advent did not say when it expects the deal to be completed. The terms include Advent paying $23 million in cash for its former competitor. Advent officials have said they intend to keep Techfi‚s product line and pricing intact.
Advent expects to take a one-time $2 million write-off for in-process research and development as a result of the acquisition. "We believed from the start that the combination of Advent and Techfi would be extremely beneficial to our combined customers and our companies," says Advent CEO and President Peter Caswell. "We look forward to moving ahead with our plans to integrate our companies and expand our offerings."
African-Americans Remain A Growth Market
Financial-services providers seeking to boost market share should take a second look at African-American investors.
That‚s because five years after companies first began paying attention to this group–following census data and industry research showing that this population was growing quickly–African-American investors remain under-served and under-invested.
This opens an opportunity for companies to get an edge on the competition by making an attempt to understand, educate and tailor services to this population.
"Despite the progress we‚ve made, Wall Street has to continue to step up and educate African-American investors so that they see the benefits of stock market investing–especially when there‚s such uncertainty and distrust in the market," says Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management in Chicago.
Consider the facts.
Over the past five years, the percentage of African-Americans with household income of $50,000 or more who invest in the market has risen 30%, meaning that nearly 75% of this group now own stock, according to a study released this year by Ariel Mutual Funds and Charles Schwab & Co. Yet, even with this gain, the number of African-Americans who invest in the market still lags about 10% behind whites with the same income.
At the same time, according to census data, the African-American population has grown more quickly than the U.S. population as a whole, increasing by about 15.6% between 1990 and 2000 compared with a 13.2% rise overall.