The deal will see RWC take control of the $280m currently managed by the firm in European equity funds.
Pensato’s seven-person investment team, including Clapp, Edward Rumble and Russell Champion, will also move over as part of the acquisition.
Clapp established Pensato in 2008 after 22 years at Fidelity and said he was “intrigued” by the business model at RWC.
He managed the €25bn European Growth Fund at Fidelity and said he had built on the process he developed there during his nine-years with Pensato.
He said: “It is critical to me and my team that we spend our time analysing companies and I really like the focus RWC has on creating the right environment for its investment teams.
“It’s very exciting to join RWC at a time when Europe is back on people’s radar. We have a hugely intensive company meeting program and believe there is a plethora of opportunity in European equities.
“I’ve been investing in the UK and Europe for over 25 years and it remains a really attractive place to be an active fund manager.”
RWC manages about $11.2bn in strategies focused on developed and emerging market equities, convertible bonds and income solutions.
RWC’s chief executive Dan Mannix said: “As we’ve got to know Graham it’s apparent he is an exceptional investor with an undimmed passion for analysing and investing in stocks.
“We believe that there remains a real demand for exceptional investment teams who are providing something different for investors and we see the competitive environment improving as barriers to entry rise and larger organisation increasingly put the squeeze on their investment teams.”
