Perpetual acquires 75% of US asset manager


Perpetual has completed the acquisition of 75% of US-based asset manager Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC and amended its executive committee.
In recognition of the firm’s presence outside Australia, the firm would have two divisions; Perpetual Asset Management, Australia (formerly Perpetual Investments) and Perpetual Asset Management, International. The former would be run by Amanda Gillespie and the latter by David Lane, both reporting to Perpetual Asset Management group chief executive, Rob Adams.
The international arm was expected to bring in 29% of the group’s operating revenue.
Gillespie, who was formerly chief executive of Lonsec, would join the firm’s executive committee.
The acquisition would build on the firm’s earlier acquisition of Trillium Asset Management and build out its presence in the US. It would triple the firm’s assets under management to $87 billion and add 21 new strategies.
Barrow Hanley would retain its brand and operate independently with no change to its investment process or management.
Adams said: “This is a transformational deal for Perpetual. We now have a broad range of world-class investment capabilities; we have significantly diversified our AUM by client type, client location and by asset sector; and we now have multiple opportunities to drive strong future growth in AUM, with substantial capacity across those strategies.
“The successful early build-out of our US distribution team is now greatly accelerated, with 31 distribution professionals joining us through the acquisition of Barrow Hanley, which also gives Perpetual a presence in London and Hong Kong for future expansion.”
Barrow Hanley chief executive, Cory Martin, said, “We are excited to formally commence our new partnership with Perpetual. The response from our clients has been very positive and we look forward to leveraging the combination of our investment expertise and Perpetual’s world-class distribution capability.”
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