Universal-Investment Group has strengthened its market position as a European fund service platform by entering into the Irish fund market with the acquisition of Metzler Ireland.
After Luxembourg and Germany, Metzler is to be developed into the third fund service hub, particularly for international asset managers, and will benefit from Universal-Investment Group’s distribution services in doing so.
Metzler was formed in Ireland, has 20 employees, and had approximately €2.8 billion under management per the end of November.
Universal-Investment and Metzler already work for a large number of common clients as master KVG and asset manager respectively, and intend to step up this cooperation in the area of Irish fund launches in the future.
“The acquisition of Metzler Ireland is part of Universal-Investment Group’s strategy of investing not only in organic growth and digital transformation, but also in the company’s internationalisation,” commented Universal-Investment Group CEO Michael Reinhard.
Gerhard Wiesheu, the Metzler partner responsible for asset management, explained: “The sale of Metzler Ireland lets us focus fully on our core competencies in asset management. Metzler will remain active as a portfolio management company and continue to offer high-quality master KVG solutions for discerning institutional investors.”
“The sale of the Irish fund management company to a specialised fund service platform such as Universal-Investment Group is the right step, and our clients will also benefit from the high service quality offered by Universal-Investment Group,” added Wiesheu.
