Joseph Pinto

Natixis appoints Joseph Pinto as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis IM) and Philippe Setbon as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ostrum Asset Management. Joseph and Philippe will both be members of the Natixis Executive Committee and of the Natixis Investment Managers Management Committee.

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Gwenola Chambon

Natixis Investment Managers announces today its plan to launch Vauban Infrastructure Partners^[1], a new affiliate dedicated to infrastructure equity investing. Vauban Infrastructure Partners will be established by transferring the current infrastructure team of Mirova^[2] into a new specialized affiliate.

The team has been at the forefront of innovation in infrastructure investing since the 2012 inception of Mirova, pioneer in responsible investing. The team currently manages €2.8 billion of assets^[3] and will pursue its international growth as a stand-alone affiliate.

This marks another important step in the development of Natixis Investment Managers’ international alternative and real asset range following the launch in December 2018 of Flexstone Partners, a global private equity manager; the acquisition in June 2018 of MV Credit, a private debt specialist; and the launch in May 2018 of a co-investment offering – for real estate, infrastructure and aviation private debt – between its affiliate Ostrum Asset Management and Natixis’ Corporate & Investment Banking arm.

Vauban Infrastructure Partners will be led by Gwenola Chambon, who will be named CEO, and Mounir Corm, who will be named Deputy CEO, both founding partners, and will count a team of 35 highly experienced professionals. Over the last 10 years, the team has successfully raised five infrastructure funds (FIDEPPP, FIDEPPP2, BTP Impact Local, MCIF, CIF II)^[4], and has invested in more than 50 assets across Europe.

The team will continue to specialize in structuring and managing equity funds (including the existing ones) dedicated to investing in global greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets with a focus on the transportation, utilities, digital infrastructure and social infrastructure sectors. Vauban Infrastructure Partners will cater to institutional investors – including pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions and family offices – across Europe and Asia. Vauban Infrastructure Partners will continue to consider long-term sustainability and ESG aspects as key determinants of long-term performance.

Jean Raby, CEO, Natixis Investment Managers, said: “The upcoming launch of Vauban Infrastructure Partners will make a substantial contribution to our alternative and real assets range. At a time where the infrastructure investing market is growing significantly, creating a stand-alone specialized affiliate, with an entrepreneurial approach and proven track record, will enable global investors to more easily access the infrastructure investments fitting their specific needs and constraints.”

Gwenola Chambon, CEO^[5], Vauban Infrastructure Partners commented: “We are pleased to become an affiliate of one of the world’s leading asset managers. The creation of Vauban Infrastructure Partners is a natural step in our development and will help us to pursue further growth in a market where size matters. We have an ambition to continue our European-focused mid-market strategies but also to further explore international expansion.”

Mounir Corm, Deputy CEO^[5], Vauban Infrastructure Partners added: “Our mission is to continue to deliver long-term sustainable value to all our stakeholders, including investors, local communities, public entities, employees, and industrial partners, with the highest quality of service. We aim to double our AUMs over the next years, building on our track record in delivering long-term value in infrastructure investments for our clients.”

With €855.4 billion AUM^[3] and powered by the expertise of 24 specialized investment managers, Natixis Investment Managers is one of the largest asset managers in the world. It offers access to highly active, high conviction managers globally, each of which concentrates on the investment styles and disciplines in which they have proven expertise.

Vauban Infrastructure Partners will be structured as a partnership, emphasising entrepreneurship and long-term alignment with investors.

———-

[1] Subject to AMF approval
[2] Mirova is an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to responsible investing
[3] As of end March 2019
[4] All of the funds mentioned above are closed for investment
[5] Gwenola Chambon and Mounir Corm will be respectively named CEO and Deputy CEO of Vauban Infrastructure Partners after the official creation of Vauban infrastructure Partners, subject to regulatory approval.

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Jean Raby

Appetite for environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies is on the rise, as investors increasingly recognise the opportunity to generate alpha through ESG, but for professional investors reporting and measurement remains one of the biggest obstacles, according to a survey released yesterday by Natixis Investment Managers. The Natixis ESG cross-survey report leverages data from four global Natixis surveys of financial professionals, individual investors, institutional investors, and professional fund buyers.

The main findings revealed that six in ten (59%) financial professionals, including 61% of Australian financial professionals, 57% of professional fund buyers, (81% in Asia, which includes Australia) and 56% of institutional investors (63% in Asia, which includes Australia) believe there is alpha to be found in ESG, whilst also believing these strategies can mitigate exposure to governance and social risks not captured in traditional analysis. More than half (56%) of individual investors believe that companies that demonstrate a higher level of integrity will outperform those that do not.

Institutional investors continue to lead the way in the adoption of ESG strategies in their portfolios. Almost two thirds (66%) believe ESG will become standard practice in the next five years, up from 60% in 2017. And in Asia, which includes Australia, the number is much higher – 72% believe ESG will be standard practice within five years. Among those who implement ESG today, 46% say they believe this analysis is as important to their investment process as traditional fundamental analysis.

However, the survey also demonstrated the need for more advanced reporting and measurement. More than two thirds of financial professionals (68%) said they would be more likely to recommend ESG products if there was better data and reporting available.

“As an active manager, we view ESG factors as inherently part of long-term, active investment strategies. Investors agree. ESG-related investment strategies are now recognised beyond the narrow scope of negative screening with which it was once associated. Demand for ESG-related strategies is outpacing supply. As it continues to expand into a broader set of investment processes, investors will increasingly require greater clarity and definition on ESG strategies, how they are implemented, and what the benefits of ESG factors are on investment performance and on society more broadly,” said Jean Raby, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers.“There are some clear steps to take, including better taxonomy and labelling standards across the industry, and more transparency around climate and ESG reporting.”

Professional investors leading the charge

Institutions are integrating a wide range of ESG strategies, most frequently employing ESG integration, which makes analysis of ESG factors part of their fundamental analysis process. ESG investing is also making in-roads in wholesale markets, where 65% of fund buyers say it is part of their investment practices. In this field, slightly fewer rely on full integration (28%) and exclusionary screening (22%), but larger numbers employ both impact investing and best-in-class approaches (15% each). 

Damon Hambly, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers in Australia commented: “As with most innovations in investing, institutional investors have been leading the charge on ESG. Six in ten already incorporate ESG in their portfolios and the majority (55%) plan to increase allocations in 2019. In Australia, 55% of investors said they invest with the purpose of making a positive social or environmental impact, and more importantly still, 66% believe their decisions are having a real impact, which we hope means they will continue on the same ESG path. Reporting is certainly a challenge, and many have called on the investment industry to provide the measurement and reporting they need, which will be to the benefit of investors across the board. The majority of Australian financial professionals (59%) said they would be more likely to recommend ESG if the reporting was better – a clear indication consistent, standard labelling around ESG should be an industry priority.”

 The demand for ESG strategies is increasing amongst Australian super funds and other institutions, according to Louise Watson, Managing Director of Natixis Investment Managers in Australia, who said: “ESG themes offer attractive opportunities from an investment perspective but also in terms of social responsibility. Offering more investment options integrating ESG criteria could entice investors to save more, which could in turn lead to greater retirement security. This is backed up by the survey data, which showed that 65% of global investors think ESG investing will become standard practice in the next five years, up from 60% in 2017. It’s therefore not surprising that local institutions are more and more cognisant of the need to incorporate ESG strategies into their portfolios.”

Younger investors lead the way among individuals

In contrast to older generations, the majority (56%) of Millennial investors and half (48%) of Generation X before them said they believe their investments can have a positive impact on the world. Only 41% of Baby Boomers and 30% of the Silent Generation said the same. 

Values hold sway on ESG

Across the investor groups surveyed, the findings reveal the importance of aligning investments to values, a particularly important consideration for individual investors – four in five (81%) said the ability to customise their investments to meet their personal values was important. Almost three in five (59%) institutional investors and more than half (52%) of professional fund buyers also identified the need to align investment strategies to organizational values as the primary reason for integrating ESG

Mr Hambly commented: “The trade-off between performance and ESG investing has often been a sticking point for investors, and it continues to be so. When asked about whether they even take their personal values into account when making investment decisions, a surprisingly high number of Australian investors (26%) said they did not consider their personal values compared with only 19% globally. It wasn’t all bad news though – only 42% of Australian investors said they would compromise personal values for better performance, whereas more global investors (50%) said they would. We hope that as ESG increasingly becomes standard practice, and allocations rise, there will be no need for trade-offs to be made.”

Environmental considerations edge out Governance and Social

For professional investors globally, environmental considerations continue to be the primary ESG consideration. When asked to identify the factors they were most focused on incorporating within their investment strategy, more than three quarters (76%) of institutional investors selected environmental, followed by governance (70%) and social (61%). These global findings were consistent with those in Asia (including Australia), with the exception of social considerations, which were higher (68%). This focus is reflected by professional fund buyers for whom environmental factors are the primary consideration for four-fifths (80%), followed by governance (73%) and social (65%).

Read the full report.

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Kharmandarian Karen

Natixis Investment Managers announces the creation of Thematics Asset Management, a new investment company¹ based in Paris, that joins the firm’s global lineup of investment affiliates and will provide investors with access to a wide range of high conviction and active global thematic strategies, including, Safety, Water, Artificial Intelligence & Robotics, starting in Q2, 2019.²

Thematics Asset Management will be led by Karen Kharmandarian, Chairman & CIO, and Mohammed Amor, Managing Partner and Head of Development. The investment team will also include Arnaud Bisschop, Frédéric Dupraz and Nolan Hoffmeyer, who joined Natixis Investment Managers in November 2018, and Simon Gottelier who joins as a senior portfolio manager on the Water strategy.

The management team consists of the above-named partners, specialised in global thematic investing, with a high-conviction, long-term approach and an emphasis on integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) considerations throughout the investment decision-making process.

Prior to joining Natixis Investment Managers and over the past 11 years, the team has developed and launched a range of thematic funds and were together involved in the management of more than $21 billion of assets. The investment managers have a strong expertise in bottom-up stock picking, identifying the companies exposed to long-term secular growth themes that should deliver risk-adjusted returns superior to those of broader global equity markets. The team’s robust investment process will rely on broad investable universes and the building of portfolios based solely on the merits of the individual stocks. The result is a range of portfolios that reflect high levels of conviction and are global, unconstrained, benchmark-agnostic and socially responsible.

“The long-term structural changes underway across all sectors of the global economy pose unique challenges for our clients as for us. The launch of Thematics Asset Management, as part of our multi-affiliate asset management model exemplifies Natixis’ response turning a long-term trend from a challenge into an opportunity,” said François Riahi, Chairman of Natixis Investment Managers’ board and CEO of Natixis.

One of the world’s largest asset managers with €802b in AUM³ and powered by the expertise of 24 specialized investment managers, Natixis Investment Managers offers access to highly active, high conviction managers, each of whom concentrates on the investment styles and disciplines in which they have proven expertise, the ultimate objective is to help investors to build stronger and more diversified portfolios over the long term.

“The addition of Thematics Asset Management to our lineup of affiliated managers makes a substantial contribution to our global equity range and provides our investors around the world with access to distinctive thematic strategies. The team’s strong expertise, proven track record and highly-active investment approach fit perfectly within our multi-affiliate model,” commented Jean Raby, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers.

“Thematics Asset Management’s partners share an entrepreneurial spirit combined with an active management approach. Our edge lies in our focus in identifying, developing and managing multi-decade investment themes fueled by four global primary forces that are transforming our world: demographic changes, globalisation, innovation and scarcity. We are long-term by design in our investment style and in close alignment with our clients’ interest,” explained Karen Kharmandarian, Chairman & CIO, Thematics Asset Management.

“Natixis Investment Managers’ multi-affiliate model offers tremendous growth opportunities, and we are pleased to become an affiliate of one of the world’s leading asset managers. It allows us to access a truly global distribution network and to benefit from the support of a large financial services group while retaining our autonomy and focusing on what we do best: capturing investment opportunities and delivering sustainable returns for our investors,” said Mohammed Amor, Managing Partner and Head of Development, Thematics Asset Management.

The team recently launched a range of thematic strategies – Safety, Water, AI& Robotics, Meta strategy – under the Luxembourg-domiciled Natixis International Funds (Lux) I SICAV and new strategies will launch, including one over the course of the year.

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James Hughes, former Global Head of Strategic Client Solutions for Aberdeen Standard Investments will lead the new business, based in London, and report directly to CEO Jean Raby. James will join Natixis in December 2018.

Jean Raby, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers, commented, “Natixis Dynamic Solutions brings together the existing asset allocation and portfolio construction expertise of our group into a single entity to address complex investment challenges utilising the diverse expertise of our global multi-affiliate organization.

James has the breadth and depth of global experience to lead the rapid development of this business and the expertise to reach across our affiliate investment managers to create investment solutions that are unique within our industry and directly responsive to the needs of our clients.”

Natixis Dynamic Solutions has been formed through the consolidation of Natixis Investment Managers’ European investment solutions capabilities into a centralized group that leverages the expertise of its former Portfolio Research & Consulting Group (PRCG) and the former Investment and Client Solutions (ICS) unit of Ostrum (an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers).

Dynamic Solutions will selectively access expertise across the firm’s range of investment affiliates to deliver investment solutions that respond to the ever-changing needs of investors as well as provide advisory, structuring and fiduciary management services.

Through its global distribution platform, Natixis Investment Managers offers investment solutions from 26 of the world’s leading high-conviction active investment managers, each of whom concentrates on the investment styles and disciplines in which they have proven expertise.

This multi-affiliate structure is built on a belief in the power of independent and active thinking, the ultimate objective being to better serve investors and help them to build stronger and more diversified portfolios over the long term.

Prior to joining Aberdeen Standard Investments, Hughes was Managing Director, Multi-Asset Solutions, for Gottex Fund Management.

Previously to that, Hughes served as Group Chief Investment Officer for HSBC Insurance based in London and Hong Kong where he managed US$120 billion of assets across 22 countries.

His eight-year career with HSBC also included roles as Chief Investment Officer of HSBC Insurance Vietnam and Head of Multi-Manager/Multi-Asset in both the Asia Pacific and EMEA for HSBC Asset Management.

Claire Martinetto, former project leader of the solutions initiative for Natixis Investment Managers, will serve as Deputy Head of the group.

Natixis Dynamic Solutions encompasses three main areas of investment solution expertise, “Consulting and Advisory,” led by James Beaumont, former head of Natixis Investment Managers’ Portfolio Research & Consulting Group, “Investment Solutions and Services,” led by Oumar Diawara, former Head of the Structured Investment Services Platform at Seeyond and “Multi-Asset Multi-Affiliate Investments,” led by Franck Nicolas, former Head of Investment and Client Solutions at Ostrum.

Seeyond and Ostrum are both affiliates of Natixis Investment Managers.

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Jean Raby

Natixis Investment Managers announces the acquisition of MV Credit, which will join Natixis as a fully autonomous affiliate.

To meet investors’ need for diversification and demand for alternative investment solutions, Natixis Investment Managers has announced the expansion of its private debt capabilities with the acquisition of a European Credit specialist focused on upper mid-cap private debt.

The acquisition of MV Credit marks another important step in the development of Natixis Investment Managers’ European real assets range, providing investors with access to a wide range of strategies in private equity, private debt, real estate, and infrastructure.

MV Credit will remain fully autonomous while being able to access Natixis Investment Managers’ centralised global distribution capabilities.

The acquisition, consistent with the objectives of Natixis’ New Dimension strategic plan, will be fee rate accretive, and the impact of the transaction on Natixis’ CET1 ratio is estimated at around 10bps.

MV Credit is a long-established, UK-based, European credit specialist founded in 2000. The firm is differentiated by its experienced and independent team, with 18 years of investment experience across all credit cycles and an investment philosophy built on two core principles: rigorous credit analysis and active portfolio management.

Over the years, MV Credit funds have invested more than €5 billion in close to 500 debt financing solutions and have delivered a consistent top quartile track record.

As a fully autonomous affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, there will be no changes to MV Credit’s operations, branding, staffing or investment strategies, and the existing management team will continue to lead the firm as a partnership.

Natixis Investment Managers offers investment solutions from some of the world’s leading high- conviction active investment managers. This multi-affiliate structure is built on a belief in the power of independent and active thinking, the ultimate objective being to better serve investors and help them to build strong and diversified portfolios over the long term.

“The combination of MV Credit’s proven track record, experienced management team, and strong expertise in subordinated and senior debts will make a substantial contribution to our European real assets range. MV Credit’s entrepreneurial mindset and highly-active investment approach will fit perfectly within our multi-affiliate model and provide our investors access to a unique new range of private debt strategies,” commented Jean Raby, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers.

“We are pleased to become an affiliate of one of the world’s leading asset managers. The multi- affiliate model offers tremendous growth opportunities, allowing us to access a truly global distribution network and the support of a large financial services group while retaining our full autonomy and our singular focus on maximising returns for our investors,” said Frederic Nadal, CEO of MV Credit.

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Jean Raby

Natixis Asset Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, will be renamed Ostrum Asset Management from April 3, 2018. Ostrum Asset Management will focus on its core investment capabilities, fixed income, equity and insurance.

A new name for a more defined brand architecture

As part of Natixis’ strategic plan ‘New Dimension’, Natixis Investment Managers, one of the world’s premier asset managers2, has begun a process of aligning its brands. Within this new initiative, Natixis Asset Management, will become Ostrum Asset Management from April 3, 2018.

Jean Raby, Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Investment Managers, commented: “Ostrum Asset Management is our largest affiliate, and its distinct brand name re-affirms its key role in Natixis Investment Managers’ multi-affiliate structure. Ostrum Asset Management’s leading active investment solutions are an integral part of our Active Thinking℠ approach, helping clients to build portfolios to meet their long-term goals.”

New identity, symbol of change

“Ostrum”’s Latin roots pay tribute to the company’s European origins, while its meaning “purple colored” connects firmly to its parent companies Natixis and Groupe BPCE. The logo’s exponential symbol embodies Ostrum’s ambition to expand in partnership with its clients and staff, creating new opportunities in the fast changing asset management industry.

Matthieu Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of Ostrum Asset Management, adds: “Our new brandname Ostrum Asset Management highlights our experience in the financial markets over more than 30 years4, our strong performance track record5 and our investment teams dedication to our clients.”

Refocused range to serve fresh ambitions

A leading fund manager in Europe with assets under management of 324.5 billion euros on behalf of institutional, individual and distributor clients, Ostrum Asset Management is renewing its focus on its long-standing fixed-income experience, its focused equity capabilities and its renowned insurance expertise.

The company will thereby draw on its extensive global investment range of bond funds, with 90% of funds ranked 1st or 2nd quartile by Morningstar. It will also continue to roll out alternative solutions, such as CLOs and private debt on real assets, while bolstering its equity investment expertise, including thematic, small & mid cap and emerging funds.

Lastly, Ostrum Asset Management will use its unique insurance investment management expertise to continue supporting insurer clients via its tailored multi-asset solutions range.

Ostrum Asset Management will rely on Natixis Investment Managers global distribution platform, as well as the Groupe BPCE retail banking networks, to drive its growth.

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Anton Tagliaferro

Natixis has announced the signing of definitive agreements to acquire a majority ownership stake (51.9%) in Investors Mutual Limited (IML) in Australia, which becomes a new affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management.

With IML, a well-established asset manager with AuM of AU$9.1bn (€6.1bn), Natixis Global Asset Management will achieve its first major acquisition in Australia and increase its exposure to the local retail market and the Australian superannuation industry. In addition, with IML, Natixis Global Asset Management is reinforcing its distribution platform in Australia, following the establishment of an office in Sydney in 2015. This marks an important step in Natixis Global Asset Management’s ambition to expand its presence in Australia and APAC as a whole.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Natixis Global Asset Management will acquire all the shares in IML held by Pacific Current Group Limited (ASX: PAC), along with a portion of the shares in IML held by IML founder Anton Tagliaferro, for up to AU$155m (€103m) in cash. This will give Natixis Global Asset Management an equity stake of 51.9% in IML. The transaction is expected to close in October 2017. The acquisition will be financed out of Natixis’ own funds. The estimated impact for Natixis CET1 ratio is around -15 bps (4Q17).

IML is a well-respected, successful Australian equities value manager created in 1998. It has a long-term, conservative, quality and value based investment style.

IML’s management team will remain shareholders in the business alongside Natixis Global Asset Management

IML Investment Director, Anton Tagliaferro, will continue to run the business, supported by Head of Research Hugh Giddy and other senior leaders. The management team continues to be committed to the business through its significant equity interest in IML.

Under Natixis Global Asset Management’s multi-affiliate strategy, IML will retain its autonomy, investment philosophy and culture, as well as benefit from the support and stability of a global group that specializes in asset management and which has a track record of successful ownership and development of investment management companies around the world. There will be no changes to the way in which IML is run day-to-day, nor to its management.

“We have previously stated that it is our intention to pursue new growth in the Asia Pacific market, and this marks the first acquisition as part of those plans. IML has a strong track record as one of Australia’s most consistently-performing fund managers, and its commitment to investors and reputation in the market will make a significant contribution to the Natixis Global Asset Management multi-affiliate model,” said Jean Raby, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee and CEO of Natixis Global Asset Management.

“The Australian wealth management industry in particular is highly sophisticated, and IML’s views on portfolio construction and risk management align with Natixis Global Asset Management’s Durable Portfolio Construction approach. Moreover, IML shares our core values of consistency, transparency and always putting clients first,” said Fabrice Chemouny, Head of APAC at Natixis Global Asset Management.

“We welcome Natixis Global Asset Management, one of the world’s leading asset managers, as a supportive, long-term shareholder and business partner, and we look forward to providing Natixis Global Asset Management with expertise in Australian equities,” said Anton Tagliaferro, Investment Director at IML.

Natixis Global Asset Management currently has over 20 affiliates, each of which concentrates on the investment styles and disciplines in which they have proven expertise. The multi-affiliate structure is built on a belief in the power of independent thinking, and purposefully maintains the autonomy, investment philosophy and culture of the firms it acquires.

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