WASHINGTON, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in the operations of Fifth Quadrant, the South African actuarial and employee benefits consultancy.
"We are very pleased to form this strategic alliance with Fifth Quadrant," said John Haley, president and CEO of Watson Wyatt. "It further enhances our ability to offer seamless consulting services around the world to our multinational clients." With offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and employing 72 staff, Fifth Quadrant has a 'blue chip' client base and is the leading asset consulting firm in South Africa (advising 36 of the largest 100 funds by asset size). Its core business is the provision of independent advice to institutional clients in the areas of actuarial services, retirement fund consulting, investment consulting and health benefit consulting.
"Fifth Quadrant is an excellent strategic fit and shares our focus on high-quality client service," said Babloo Ramamurthy, regional manager for Watson Wyatt. "We see tremendous growth opportunities in the coming years, in South Africa and across the whole continent." "This will significantly enhance the service we provide to clients and is likely to create some fantastic opportunities for our staff," said Rustum Omar, executive chairman of Fifth Quadrant.
Visit Watson Wyatt's online press office: http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/news/journalists .
Watson Wyatt Worldwide Watson Wyatt (NYSE:WWNASDAQ:WW) is the trusted business partner to the world's leading organizations on people and financial issues. The firm's global services include: managing the cost and effectiveness of employee benefit programs; developing attraction, retention and reward strategies; advising pension plan sponsors and other institutions on optimal investment strategies; providing strategic and financial advice to insurance and financial services companies; and delivering related technology, outsourcing and data services. Watson Wyatt has 7,000 associates in 32 countries and is located on the web at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/ .
Fifth Quadrant Fifth Quadrant Actuaries & Consultants (Pty) Ltd is an independent South African firm of actuaries and employee benefits consultants established in 1998. Its core business is to provide independent, high quality advice to institutional clients, which include retirement funds, medical schemes, charitable trusts and corporate and public sector clients. It can be located on the web at http://www.fifthquadrant.co.za/ . DATASOURCE: Watson Wyatt Worldwide CONTACT: Bruce Wraight, Head of Public Relations, EMEA, of Watson Wyatt, +44 (0) 1737 273370, +44 (0) 7771 765154, Web site: http://www.watsonwyatt.com/ http://www.fifthquadrant.co.za/ http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/news/journalists
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