Wadhwani Asset Management, a small London-based quant macro firm, has been acquired by Quantitative Management Associates, a US firm owned by Prudential Financial.
Dr Sushil Wadhwani, the former central banker who started his eponymous firm in 2002, will continue as chief investment officer following the deal’s expected completion in the first quarter of next year. -
QMA’s chief executive, Andrew Dyson, said Wadhwani’s reputation as an “economist, investor and academic” was a factor in the acquisition. Wadhwani sat on the UK Monetary Policy Committee between 1999 and 2002, prior to which he worked for Tudor and Goldman Sachs.
QMA, a $128.1bn manager specialising in quant equity, was formed in 1975 and is based in New Jersey. It is part of PGIM, the US life insurer Prudential’s investment arm.
“My conversations with Andrew convinced me that we could not find a better home to further develop our business in the quantitative investment space,” said Wadhwani.
The Keynes Leveraged Quantitative Strategies Fund, which Wadhwani started in 2005, lost 3.8% in the first ten months of this year after gaining 3.1% last year. Its biggest, Keynes Multi Asset Value, lost 11.8% after a 2.2% gain last year.
“This acquisition underscores our commitment to expanding PGIM’s global footprint and investment capabilities to serve the evolving needs of our clients with a broad range of investment strategies and solutions,” said David Hunt, CEO of PGIM.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sushil Wadhwani sells firm to Prudential’s QMA unit on EuroHedge.