Trans-Atlantic Partnership
Joe Keefe, president and CEO of Pax World Management LLC, is clearly focused on the benefits to his firm of being acquired by Impax Asset Management Group plc (Impax), subject to certain customary closing conditions, including approval of the investment advisory and sub-advisory agreements by the trustees and shareholders of Pax World Funds.
Pax World Funds, a pioneer in the field of sustainable investing with approximately $4.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of September 30, 2017, announced on September 18, 2017, that it has entered an agreement to be acquired by Impax Asset Management Group plc (Impax), a U.K.-based firm with approximately $9.4 billion in AUM as of September 30, 2017. Impax is a leading independent investment manager specializing in opportunities arising from the transition to a more sustainable global economy.
“This is an exciting new chapter in our decade-long partnership with Impax. We believe that combining our two firms will create a leading sustainable investment manager with business on both sides of the Atlantic,” says Keefe. “Pax World Funds’ shareholders stand to benefit in significant ways from our increased scale, research and investment capabilities as we seek to deliver a more robust investment and distribution platform for the global market.”
Impax and Pax formed a partnership in 2007 to design and manage the Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund, which was launched in 2008 and today has over $500 million in assets. The acquisition by Impax will create a combined investment management firm with $13.4 billion in AUM and significantly expanded investment management, research and client service capabilities (net consolidated AUM—not double counting the AUM of Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund). Both firms have a heritage as pioneers in sustainable investing and share similar corporate cultures and values.
Financial Advisor Solutions
I asked Keefe how this Trans-Atlantic partnership will help financial advisors implement ESG strategies in the United States, beyond the significant benefits of scaling research and investment diversification. “We’re seeing a shift in the way advisors do business, in the way they interact with asset management firms. Our partnerships with advisors are going to be more about solutions and less about product than they have been during the last 20 years.”