David Hunt is expanding PGIM's [profile] quant shop via an acquisition across the pond.

David A. Hunt PGIM President, CEO

Yesterday Andrew Dyson, chairman and CEO of PGIM unit QMA, confirmed that PGIM has agreed to buy London-based Wadhwani Asset Management (WAM). Pricing and terms of the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2019, were not disclosed.

QMA had $128.1 billion in AUM as of September (of the more than $1 trillion at PGIM). WAM has $1.76 billion in AUM and 33 employees, according to its most recent form ADV (filed on April 12). About 97 percent of that AUM is in five pooled investment vehicles (that aren't mutual funds or BDCs). WAM specializes in absolute return strategies, driven by a global multi-asset approach and a macro overlay, and serves institutional clients.

Andrew Dyson QMA Chairman, CEO

Dyson confirms that WAM will continue to operate its own investment platform, independent from QMA's, and that WAM founder Sushil Wadhwani will stay on as chief investment officer. He founded the company in 2002, after working with the London School of Economics, Goldman Sachs, Tudor Investment Corporation, and the Bank of England.

Dr. Sushil Wadhwani Wadhwani Asset Management LLP Founder and CEO

"QMA has grown rapidly outside the U.S. over the past 12 months, and this acquisition is yet another milestone, as we continue to develop our global expansion strategy," Dyson states. "In addition to extending QMA's product set, this deal offers an appealing combination of access to complementary industry-leading products, with the benefit of greater breadth of geographic reach and operational scale."

Wadhwani, for his part, describes PGIM and QMA as a "home to further develop [WAM's] business in the quantitative investment space."

"QMA and PGIM's broad reach and quantitative focused distribution capabilities are very attractive, as is their first-rate operational platform," Wadhwani states. "My investment team and I were delighted to find a partner that will allow us to offer our clients richer options by combining what we do with QMA's best-in-class products while also retaining our investment autonomy."

Hunt, CEO of PGIM (the asset management arm of Newark, New Jersey-based insurer Prudential), puts the deal in the context of a "commitment to expanding PGIM's global footprint and investment capabilities." And Hunt is still, well, hunting.

"We will continue to explore both organic and non-organic opportunities to add unique and complementary capabilities to our core businesses worldwide," Hunt states. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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