Impax Asset Management is set to acquire the European assets of US-based fixed income investment firm Sky Harbor.
Impax’s asset purchase will include Sky Harbor’s European high yield and broad high yield strategies, including the US Short Duration Responsible HY strategy, the Global Responsible HY strategy and the Global Short Maturity Responsible HY strategy, together worth near £1.6bn in assets. Under Impax, the strategies will be available through a Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund and “certain separately managed mandates”.
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Each of the funds qualify under Article 8 of SFDR. Impax will be the new manager of the funds, with a fixed investment team that is now near 20 professionals. Within fixed income, the company holds about £3.1bn assets under management, as of the end of June.
Impax will also have eight team members from Sky join the company and acquire Frankfurt-based Sky Harbor GmbH, the distributer of the UCITS fund.
Ian Simm, founder and chief executive of Impax Asset Management, said: “Both founder-led specialist asset managers, SKY Harbor and Impax share a strong business culture and a complementary investment approach.
“We are looking forward to offering SKY Harbor and Impax clients alike a wider range of investment solutions dedicated to investing in the opportunities and managing the risks associated with the transition to a more sustainable economy.”
While Impax announced its acquisition, the company also released its third quarter update which included a 6.8% decrease in assets under management throughout the period, down to £36.9bn. The company fell near £3bn in listed equities, with outflows of £1.9bn and a £798m market and performance loss. Fixed income lost over £1bn with private markets dropping £701m.
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“Aggregate net flows for the quarter to 30 June remained negative and dominated by our wholesale channel, despite a notable easing of outflows from key parts of our European distribution structure,” Simm said.
“Following a busy period for our direct sales team, our pipeline of potential new business is healthy.”
