Key Takeaways
- • Goldman Sachs Asset Management acquired Aptitude Investment Management, a Seattle and Vancouver-based fund-of-hedge-funds manager with $3.5 billion in discretionary assets under management, with the deal expected to close by year-end 2018.
- • Aptitude's leadership—co-founders Salim Shariff and Jeff Klein, each with more than 20 years of experience in alternative asset advisory—will join GSAM's alternative investments and manager selection group, which oversees more than $200 billion in client assets.
- • The acquisition expands GSAM's hedge fund platform and positions the division to leverage Aptitude's "differentiated investment strategy and market-leading performance" while maintaining the firm's existing Seattle and Vancouver office locations.
- • GSAM's consumer and investment management division supervises more than $1.5 trillion in assets globally and provides wealth and asset management services to institutional and individual investors across hedge funds, private equity, real estate, public equity, and fixed-income strategies.
- • Aptitude was formerly known as Federal Way Asset Management and operated as the in-house asset manager for Weyerhaeuser Company's defined benefit plan before spinning out as an independent firm in 2012.
Summary
Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced the acquisition of Aptitude Investment Management, a Pacific Northwest fund-of-hedge-funds manager, in a move to strengthen its alternative investments platform. Aptitude, operating from offices in Seattle and Vancouver, managed $3.5 billion in discretionary assets across separately managed accounts and commingled vehicles at the time of the announcement. Goldman Sachs did not disclose the transaction value, though the deal was expected to close by year-end 2018.
The acquisition brings together experienced alternative asset leadership. Aptitude's co-founders, Salim Shariff and Jeff Klein, each bring more than two decades of experience advising institutional investors on alternative assets. Their team will integrate into GSAM's alternative investments and manager selection group, which oversees more than $200 billion in client assets and provides investment and advisory services across hedge funds, private equity, real estate, public equity, and fixed-income strategies. According to Timothy O'Neill and Eric Lane, co-heads of Goldman's consumer and investment management division, Aptitude's "experienced team, differentiated investment strategy and market-leading performance" will position the platform for continued growth.
The transaction reflects Goldman's broader strategy to expand its alternative asset management capabilities. GSAM's consumer and investment management division—which encompasses wealth management and asset management services for institutions and individual investors globally—supervised more than $1.5 trillion in assets as of September 2018. The division's alternative investments team focuses primarily on hedge fund services for large institutional clients, and Aptitude's staff will maintain their regional operations in the Pacific Northwest following the integration.
Aptitude brings institutional hedge fund expertise developed over multiple market cycles. The firm was formerly known as Federal Way Asset Management and originally operated as the in-house asset manager for Weyerhaeuser Company's defined benefit plan. The firm achieved independent status in 2012 when it spun out as a separate entity, allowing it to serve external institutional investors alongside its original mandate.
The acquisition brings together experienced alternative asset leadership. Aptitude's co-founders, Salim Shariff and Jeff Klein, each bring more than two decades of experience advising institutional investors on alternative assets. Their team will integrate into GSAM's alternative investments and manager selection group, which oversees more than $200 billion in client assets and provides investment and advisory services across hedge funds, private equity, real estate, public equity, and fixed-income strategies. According to Timothy O'Neill and Eric Lane, co-heads of Goldman's consumer and investment management division, Aptitude's "experienced team, differentiated investment strategy and market-leading performance" will position the platform for continued growth.
The transaction reflects Goldman's broader strategy to expand its alternative asset management capabilities. GSAM's consumer and investment management division—which encompasses wealth management and asset management services for institutions and individual investors globally—supervised more than $1.5 trillion in assets as of September 2018. The division's alternative investments team focuses primarily on hedge fund services for large institutional clients, and Aptitude's staff will maintain their regional operations in the Pacific Northwest following the integration.
Aptitude brings institutional hedge fund expertise developed over multiple market cycles. The firm was formerly known as Federal Way Asset Management and originally operated as the in-house asset manager for Weyerhaeuser Company's defined benefit plan. The firm achieved independent status in 2012 when it spun out as a separate entity, allowing it to serve external institutional investors alongside its original mandate.
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