Natixis Investment Managers is to acquire a minority stake in $29bn (€25bn) WCM Investment Management and become its exclusive third-party distributor.

Under the terms of the agreement, Natixis will acquire a 24.9% in WCM, which is based in Laguna Beach, California.

The distribution arrangement means WCM will be added to Natixis’ global multi-affiliate platform, giving clients of the French asset manager access to a “high-conviction, high-active share investment manager with a distinctive investment culture and process”, according to a statement.

WCM is employee-owned and runs concentrated equity portfolios covering global, emerging and small cap markets.

Paul Black, co-CEO of WCM, said: “After a lot of thought and collective input, we concluded the smartest way to enhance our stability, and to guard our investment temperament, was to partner with a world-class global distribution platform.

“For some time now we’ve known that diversifying the product mix within the firm – by raising the profile of our global strategy, our emerging markets strategy, and various other investment strategies – is the key to making this happen.”

BMO drops F&C brand

BMO Global Asset Management is to remove the F&C brand from all its products four years after its acquisition of the UK-based asset manager, it announcd today.

All open-ended funds and corporate entities in Europe will adopt the BMO name, as will the direct-to-consumer channel, the Canadian investment group said.

BMO GAM bought F&C Asset Management in 2014 and it has been expanding across Europe since then. It has opened seven offices in six countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain and Switzerland.

David Logan, head of distribution at BMO Global Asset Management, said: “Having more of our global and local capabilities under a single brand helps us to deliver on that as well as further simplifying the way we communicate with clients across all of our regions.”

New signatories to UK gender diversity push

Franklin Templeton Investments, Intermediate Capital Group and Investec Asset Management are among 67 additional signatories to the UK government’s Women in Finance charter, according to an update published today. 

They signed up in the second quarter of the year, taking the total number of signatories to 272.

Those signed up to the charter – an iniative of the UK treasury department – commit to four actions “to prepare their female talent for leadership positions”, according to the government.

The four actions are:

  • to have one member of the senior executive team responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion;
  • to set internal targets for gender diversity in senior management;
  • to publish progress annually against the targets in reports on their websites; and
  • to “have an intention” to ensure pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against the internal targets on gender diversity.

The treasury is to update the signatory list with links to their targets in September.

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