Australia’s Pinnacle Investment Management has bought a 25% stake in Pacific Asset Management, the investment boutique backed by funds entrepreneur Sir John Beckwith.
Pinnacle, which takes stakes in ‘affiliate’ fund groups and provides them with distribution support, has paid £25.75m for the stake in Pacific.
It said it had acquired the holding from ‘passive’ shareholders, and that Pacific’s management was ‘remaining invested in the business and fully committed to the next phase of growth’.
Beckwith’s Pacific Investments Group held a 51% stake in Pacific Asset Management, according to the group’s latest accounts.
Pinnacle has initially acquired a 19.7% stake in Pacific, with the remaining 5.3% subject to regulatory approval.
The acquisition strengthens Pinnacle’s foothold in the UK funds market. It follows 2020’s investment in Aikya Investment Management, a boutique set up by former Stewart Investors fund managers, and this year’s backing of Life Cycle Investment Partners, the fund firm launched by former Royal London Asset Management head of equities Peter Rutter.
Pinnacle highlighted Pacific’s strong growth in assets under management to $11bn (£8.7bn), up from less than $2bn in 2019, with net fund flows of $4.7bn over the 12 months to the end of September. It added that Pacific’s profitability margins were ‘attractive’ pointing to revenue margins of 0.35% to 0.4% on funds.
Pacific’s fund range is headed by the £1.7bn Pacific North of South Emerging Markets All Cap Equity fund, run by Citywire AA-rated Kamil Dimmich and Matt Linsey. Over five years to the end of October, the fund has returned 56.3%, three times the 18.5% average in its sector.
Pinnacle meanwhile highlighted the strength of Pacific’s multi-asset capabilities, including its £918m Multi-Asset Accumulator fund range.
Pacific also runs a £1.2bn fund range for international adviser firm deVere Group and this month launched funds for Lockhart Asset Management, the investment arm of Lockhart Capital Management.
Pacific chief executive Matthew Lamb said Pinnacle’s investment would bring ‘so much additional value and complementary expertise’.
‘I am convinced with Pinnacle we can ensure that craft-based funds management, in a world of asset management industrialisation, can succeed long into the future.’
Pinnacle managing director Ian Macoun added that the Pacific acquisition, together with an investment in US fund manager VSS, would ‘accelerate and enhance our international growth ambitions’.
Pacific Asset Management is one of a number of fund groups launched with backing from Beckwith’s Pacific Investments Group. Others include Liontrust, Thames River Capital and River & Mercantile.
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