The Financial Conduct Authority has approved the prospectus and shareholder circular of the deal between wealth manager Rathbones and Investec Wealth & Investment, which was first announced in April.

The deal to create a £100bn wealth manager giant will now go to a shareholder vote.

The merged business designed to "create the UK's leading discretionary wealth manager", will operate under the Rathbones name, according to the firms.

Expanding its Financial Planning presence will be one of the key aims for the merged business, it said.

In a regulatory filing, Rathbones said the deal is now subject to shareholder approval, which is set to take place at its general meeting on 23 June at Rathbones offices.

It added the FCA had approved the combined prospectus and Class 1 shareholder circular in relation to the combination but had yet to approve the change in control application.

For the merger to go ahead, shareholders who "together represent a simple majority of the Rathbones shares voted at the general meeting" must vote in favour of the deal.

The merger is also subject to certain London Stock Exchange and FCA conditions, the wealth manager added, including agreeing to admit the ordinary share element of the combined company to the premium listing segment and to trading on the LSE's main market for listed securities.

Completion of the deal is expected in in the last quarter of the year.

Rathbones has been steadily expanding its Financial Planning arm and in 2021 bought Financial Planner Saunderson House for £150m. At the time Saunderson House had £4.7bn in Funds Under Management or Advice, 2,200 clients and 55 financial advisers. Clients' average portfolio size was £2.2m. The acquisition of Saunderson House increased the number of in-house Financial Planners at Rathbones from 25 to 80.

Investec Wealth has also been increasing its Financial Planning exposure and in July last year acquired Edinburgh wealth manager and Financial Planner Murray Asset Management for an undisclosed sum. Murray Asset Management’s 20 staff transferred to Investec Wealth & Investment.