UBP (Union Bancaire Privée) has acquired fund boutique Angel Japan Asset Management Limited.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the move is part of the private bank’s long-term plans to expand into Asia-Pacific and sees UBP acquire a 100% stake.
Angel Japan AM was founded in 2001 and is led by Hirotaka Usami.
UBP and Angel Japan AM have been in partnership since 2018, with the Japanese firm advising the bank on the Japanese small-cap equities strategy.
The asset manager currently manages three strategies (IPO, New Growth and Steady Growth) with total assets under advisory of $1.2 billion.
Hirotaka Usami will become chairman of a newly created board of directors at Angel Japan AM, while Ryota Bando, the current COO, will be appointed CEO.
All current employees of Angel Japan AM are expected to remain there, and there will be no change to Angel Japan AM’s current investment process, investment philosophy, investment style and investment team.
Nicolas Faller, Co-CEO asset management and head of institutional clients at UBP, said: “Taking on the ownership of Angel Japan AM will not only broaden our distribution channels to onshore Japanese clients but will also strengthen our in-house capabilities and value proposition to serve our offshore clients even better.”
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