Natixis Investment Managers and H2O Asset Management Finalize their Agreement on the Unwinding of their Partnership

1) Following the strategic decisions made in November 2020, Natixis Investment Managers and H2O Asset Management announce the completion of their agreement concerning the disposal of the stake* held by Natixis Investment Managers in H2O Asset Management Group.
The unwinding will be carried out in a two-phased process: first, the disposal on this day of 26.61% of the capital; second, in four years’ time and no later than six years, pending the necessary regulatory approvals, the disposal of the 23.4% residual stake.

2) On this occasion, H2O AM strengthens its governance with the introduction of Supervisory Boards comprising majority independent members.
Upon completion of this transaction, Natixis IM will no longer be represented on the board of directors of any H2O AM Group company. H2O AM is reinforcing its structure to succeed in this new stage of its development, with:

• a renewed governance: H2O AM announces the introduction of Supervisory Boards with a majority of independent members for all of its Europe-based investment management firms. The Chairpersons of these Boards will be selected from these independent members. The Global Executive Committee will be tasked with coordinating business at the H2O AM Group level. Working alongside a leading global consultancy firm, H2O AM has also developed its organization by strengthening its governance in all positions, namely Asset Management, Operations and Control (Risk & Compliance);
• a new generation of shareholders: some employees will acquire a stake in the capital of H2O AM while others will increase their stake, with no increase of the share capital held by the two founders. The number of employee-shareholders will now increase to 40, representing almost half of the company’s employees, confirming the commitment of the teams;
• strengthened financial reserves: H2O AM Group increases its financial reserves.

3) Lastly, H2O AM fully reintegrates distribution activities into H2O Asset Management.
The agreement reached between Natixis IM and H2O AM confirms the completion of the transfer, effective March 31, 2022, of all the distribution activities to the investment management firm, largely carried out during 2021. H2O AM’s Investor Relations team, which has been strengthened these past few months, will fully assume the distribution, communications, customer service and marketing activities of the investment management firm.

This marks a new chapter in the development of H2O AM, with a focus on its fund range and particularly Global Macro, factoring in the asset management team’s recognized expertise of nearly 30 years with its ability to deliver performance and diversification over investment horizons.