Jupiter Asset Management is set to purchase both the investment team, and some £800m of mostly institutional assets, from London-based global investment boutique Origin Asset Management.
The purchase, which is subject to approval, will provide “additional scale” to the firm’s emerging markets arm and comes as part of a wider review of Jupiter’s EM franchise.
The move will also see Nick Payne (pictured), lead investment manager for global emerging market equities, leave the company at the end of the year “to pursue other opportunities”.
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Origin, which comprises five investment professionals, will also provide Jupiter with access to an international ex-UK portfolio and a global smaller companies fund, two further areas which Jupiter said are “areas of identified demand that broaden the firm’s ability to appeal to a wider range of clients”.
The investment team adopts a quantitative screening approach to portfolio construction, combining algorithms and data with qualitative stock selection. All three of its funds – including its global emerging markets portfolio – have outperformed their respective benchmarks over long and short-term time horizons, according to Jupiter.
Kiran Nandra, head of equities at Jupiter Asset Management, said: “I believe the addition of the Origin team provides a compelling option for clients of both firms on Jupiter’s platform as we seek to broaden our offering.
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“In addition to bolstering our global equities range and giving us a new global smaller companies capability, the acquisition is an important part of our efforts to increase scale across our emerging markets capabilities as we look to build truly differentiated investment propositions.”
Tarlock Randhawa, managing partner of Origin, said the group is “excited to be part of the Jupiter team, whose “truly active and differentiated investment management philosophy and culture aligns with [Origin’s]”.
“The transition for our existing clients will be seamless and, indeed, we believe they stand to benefit from Jupiter’s focus on excellence in client experience. As well as the benefits to existing clients, we will be well-placed to grow our client and asset base over time.”
