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Nikko AM Expands Market Reach With Acquisition
Tom King
18 October 2013
Nikko Asset Management has acquired all of Asia Pacific
investment manager Treasury Asia Asset Management, saying the move
significantly enhances the Japanese firm’s ability to provide
institutional-quality Asian equity products to its clients and prospects. The purchase price was not disclosed by either party. “This acquisition brings us sophisticated Asian equity
strategies, which are gaining well-deserved traction among investors around the
world, the team will offer products to institutional and retail investors, who
deserve nothing less than the highest quality products, and which TAAM has a
distinguished track record of delivering,” Charles Beazley, president and CEO
of Nikko AM, said of the deal. The acquired business, based in Singapore
and Sydney, is relatively minor, with $300
million of assets under management; that compares with Nikko AM’s $156 billion of AuM. Beazley and his colleagues said the acquired firm’s
intellectual property fit with what is seeking to achieve was the most important reason for buying it. Nikko
AM has acquired an eight-person team that includes portfolio managers, analysts
and a dealer. The team’s investment style revolves around bottom-up stock
picking of mid to large-cap equities, with a focus on long term holdings of
high-conviction names. “Our investment style adds value and has attracted capital
from some of the most discriminating investors in the world,” Peter Sartori,
TAAM’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “We feel there is a
perfect fit with Nikko
AM, and this will allow us to do what we do best, which is to generate alpha
for clients,” he said. Our sectoral coverage approach
will be highly complementary with Nikko
AM’s more geographic and thematic focus. In turn, we look forward to working
with Nikko AM’s professionals in the region,
Europe and in North America to build wealth
for investors,” he said. TAAM was founded in 2005 by Peter Sartori and Sydney based
Treasury Group Ltd. Sartori will be based in Nikko’s
Singapore
office which is led by Eleanor Seet. Nikko AM
has designated Singapore
as the centre of excellence for managing Asian securities. Charles Beazley also said Nikko AM was openly looking for other
acquisitions complimentary to the future direction of the firm.