IXIS Asset Management US Group is to acquire Gateway Investment Advisers, a Cincinnati-based investment manager with $7.5 billion in assets under management, including the Gateway Fund, as well as a variety of sub-advised mandates and private accounts. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and completion is subject to regulatory approvals. Gateway was founded in 1977 and has a risk-adjusted investment approach that seeks to capture the majority of the higher returns associated with equity market investments while exposing investors to significantly less risk and volatility than other equity investments, according to a statement. The firm’s strategy is to invest in a broadly diversified common stock portfolio and manage risk and volatility downward by selling cash settled index call options and purchasing index put options. "Gateway fills an important niche in the NATIXIS family of investment companies, and we are very happy they have chosen to join us," said Pierre Servant, head of the asset management business at NATIXIS and president and chief executive of IXIS Asset Management US Group. IXIS Asset Management Group is the primary asset management subsidiary of NATIXIS, a global financial services firm. The firm has a multi-boutique approach and is headquartered in Paris and Boston. Its assets under management were $808 billion at 31 March 2007.