Allspring Global Investments is to acquire the investment team of GIA Partners, which has over four decades of experience in multi-sector fixed income and emerging market debt (EMD).
According to Allspring, the addition of the GIA team, led by founder Eduardo Cortes, will strengthen its presence particularly in emerging markets, which it said is experiencing heightened investor demand.
CEO and CIO Cortes, who led the EMD portfolio team at J.P. Morgan Investment Management prior to founding GIA in 1998, is joined by a team including deputy CIO Albert Tseng, senior portfolio managers David Ellis and Hamburg Tang, and portfolio manager Miguel Escobar.
“Eduardo and the GIA team have a disciplined approach investment approach, strong culture, and proven track record in global credit markets that make them an exceptional fit for Allspring,” said Kate Burke, CEO at Allspring.
“Their deep expertise in emerging markets and high yield credit will add meaningful capabilities and underscores our continued commitment to invest in our fixed income platform to better serve our clients.”
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GIA’s approach to global credit includes bottom-up analysis to generate country and industry allocations, with a factor analysis overlay to monitor risk exposures.
“Our plan to join Allspring marks an exciting new chapter for our team, as their commitment to deep credit research and investing in cutting-edge tools and technology aligns seamlessly with our investment philosophy,” said Coates.
“We are particularly drawn to Allspring’s model, which empowers portfolio management teams with autonomy while fostering collaboration,” he added. “We felt an immediate cultural alignment with their seasoned and diverse fixed income teams, underpinned by a strong, client-focused investment culture.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close early in the third quarter.
