• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • RSS Feed

Investment News NZ

Investment News provides financial advisers news stories from the financial industry in New Zealand. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.

  • Home
  • News
  • Kiwisaver
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Investment News / … while global business put up for sale again

… while global business put up for sale again

November 25, 2019

Michelle Seitz: Russell Investments chief

Frank Russell would be turning in his grave. Private equity owner TA Associates has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of Russell Investments, putting the US$400 billion-odd asset manager and former global asset consultancy on the block, again, according to London’s Financial Times.

The newspaper said last week: “A sale of the money manager follows several bruising years for the industry, with profits at some of the biggest fund houses squeezed by the rise of passive investing. Shares in listed asset managers have trailed the benchmark US stock index, the S&P 500, over the past five years.”

Russell Investments, which still has some advisory clients outside of Australasia, was last valued at US$1.15 billion in 2016 when TA Associates acquired the group from the London Stock Exchange, which kept the Russell Indices business. It is unclear how much TA is seeking for the Russell, which claims to have invented the first ‘smart beta’ strategies with the creation of small-cap, growth and value investing funds more than three decades ago and runs multi-asset, equity, fixed income and alternative funds.

The firm launched Australia’s first and only style indices, with the ASX, in the 1990s, but later closed them due to a general lack of interest from investors. It has retained a highly regarded investment implementation offering, run for the Asia Pacific region out of Tokyo.

The FT newspaper says deal-making has been concentrated this year between smaller fund managers that have sought to unite to build scale and fend-off larger rivals. Seattle-based Russell brought in Michelle Seitz as chief executive two years ago from William Blair Investment Management.

“She has since focused on controlling costs. The asset manager also operates a large investment outsourcing unit that works with companies and non-profit organisations to structure their retirement and investment programme portfolios, conduct due diligence on money managers and assist with compliance” the FT said.

The tale of Russell is interesting because it reflects the difference between family and/or staff-owned businesses and those owned by public companies or other big institutions which may not have such as interests as the core of their operations.

Russell Investments was a family company for many years, founded by Frank Russell, a stockbroker, in Tacoma, Washington State, in 1936 and later run by his son George, who is retired from business. The family sold down its holdings to an American insurance company, Northwestern Mutual, in 1998. George set up offices in London, followed by Tokyo and Sydney, in 1986. That was a big year in Australia: it was the year that Award Super got started, as the precursor to the Superannuation Guarantee. This marked the start of the modern era of superannuation. Russell and Towers Perrin became the first asset consultants to grace these shores.

A young up-and-comer, Craig Ueland, was sent from Tacoma to launch Russell’s Australian business. Westpac was its first client and MLC became one of its longest-standing and biggest. He eventually went on to be global chief executive. In semi-retirement he returned to Sydney with his family and is currently a director and chair of the investment committee at Perpetual Ltd. In another Australian connection, Pete Gunning, who runs the Australasian business, also did a stint as global CIO at the new headquarters in Seattle.

Ueland recalls that the main catalysts for setting up in Australia were the floating of the Australian dollar and the decision to allow super funds to be able invest offshore uninhibited. This lead to a surge in demand for international strategy and manager selection advice.

TA Associates, which specialises in management buyouts, has taken part in more than 20 deals involving asset managers, including DNCA of France, Söderberg Partners of Sweden and Jupiter Fund Management in the UK. Two years ago, it paid UK£600 million to acquire a majority stake in Old Mutual Global Investors in a management buyout spearheaded by the UK fund manager Richard Buxton.

The private equity firm also took a 25 per cent stake in the Auckland-based Fisher Funds business in 2017, upping its share to about a third the following year.

 

Greg Bright is publisher of Investor Strategy News (Australia)

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Twitter0
LinkedIn0
Google+0
Facebook0

Read More » Investment News

Recent articles

  • What do ‘Kiwi’ experts see for 2021? January 28, 2021
  • KiwiWRAP lays down investment backing tracks January 24, 2021
  • Government to set eyes on PIEs as tax hike bites January 24, 2021
  • Venture fund hires short-term chief, refits board January 24, 2021
  • MJW finds KiwiSaver manager choice matters more at riskier end… January 24, 2021
  • … as weight gain spread among mid-level schemes January 24, 2021
  • NZX admin unit confirms old client for new platform January 24, 2021
  • NZ Super adjusts dials on reference portfolio as risk-return gauge edges up January 24, 2021
  • State Street wins Perpetual custody job January 24, 2021
Finished reading? Why not subscribe? To receive a weekly email enter your email address here.

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Learn More »

Most Recent Investment News

What do ‘Kiwi’ experts see for 2021?

January 28, 2021

KiwiWRAP lays down investment backing tracks

January 24, 2021

Government to set eyes on PIEs as tax hike bites

January 24, 2021

Venture fund hires short-term chief, refits board

January 24, 2021

MJW finds KiwiSaver manager choice matters more at riskier end…

January 24, 2021

Search by Keyword

Investment News

  • What do ‘Kiwi’ experts see for 2021? January 28, 2021
  • KiwiWRAP lays down investment backing tracks January 24, 2021
  • Government to set eyes on PIEs as tax hike bites January 24, 2021
  • Venture fund hires short-term chief, refits board January 24, 2021
  • MJW finds KiwiSaver manager choice matters more at riskier end… January 24, 2021
  • … as weight gain spread among mid-level schemes January 24, 2021
  • NZX admin unit confirms old client for new platform January 24, 2021
  • NZ Super adjusts dials on reference portfolio as risk-return gauge edges up January 24, 2021
  • State Street wins Perpetual custody job January 24, 2021
  • New future-facing FAP compliance firm fronts up January 24, 2021

Investment News Archive

Most Popular Articles

  • NZ share-trading splurge could trigger tax alarms… posted on October 5, 2020
  • Westpac NZ flags retail advice sale to Forsyth Barr posted on October 19, 2020
  • The horror year in technicolour: free KiwiSaver 13 report released posted on September 30, 2020
  • Flint set to spark platform competition posted on August 17, 2020
  • Four to the core: Smartshares to expand, rearrange and reprice ETFs posted on June 22, 2020
  • Kitset KiwiSaver scheme set to unwrap in spring posted on April 27, 2020
  • Funds eye bargains, self-shoppers hoard cash, KiwiSavers turn conservative posted on March 15, 2020
  • AMP Capital NZ chief quits amid equities exodus offshore posted on August 28, 2020

Sponosored Content

What do ‘Kiwi’ experts see for 2021?

David-Boyle

On the industry play-list: four chart-topping regulations for 2021

David-Boyle

Charge of the lite (advice) brigade

Nathan Field

Pandemic Baby Boom a Bust

Quick-links to Popular News

  • FAP Compliance
  • Coronavirus
  • New Appointments
  • Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
  • Kiwisaver
  • Climate Change
  • Crypto Currency
  • Blockchain
  • Insurance

Secondary Sidebar

Recent News

  • What do ‘Kiwi’ experts see for 2021? January 28, 2021
  • KiwiWRAP lays down investment backing tracks January 24, 2021
  • Government to set eyes on PIEs as tax hike bites January 24, 2021
  • Venture fund hires short-term chief, refits board January 24, 2021
  • MJW finds KiwiSaver manager choice matters more at riskier end… January 24, 2021
  • … as weight gain spread among mid-level schemes January 24, 2021
  • NZX admin unit confirms old client for new platform January 24, 2021
  • NZ Super adjusts dials on reference portfolio as risk-return gauge edges up January 24, 2021
  • State Street wins Perpetual custody job January 24, 2021
  • New future-facing FAP compliance firm fronts up January 24, 2021

Footer

Copyright ©2020 InvestmentNews.co.nz — All Rights Reserved ·— Terms & Conditions