Goldman Sachs Highlights ESG Capabilities, Products in $1.9B Acquisition of NN IP
Leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm Goldman Sachs announced today the acquisition of Netherlands-based asset manager NN Investment Partners (NN IP) from financial services company NN Group N.V for €1.6 billion. In addition to growing its foothold in the European investment sector, Goldman pointed to NN IP’s ESG capabilities and product suite as a key rationale for the transaction.
David Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs said:
“Across NN Investment Partners’ offerings they have been successful in integrating sustainability which mirrors our own level of ambition to put responsible investing and stewardship at the heart of our business.”
NN IP has approximately $355 billion in assets under management, with over $225 billion in its responsible investing range. The range includes ESG-integrated strategies, embedding ESG data in order to improve risk-adjusted returns, sustainable investing strategies focused on investing in sustainability leaders, and impact investing strategies targeting companies that make a clear contribution to the UN SDGs. NN IP’s ambition is to have 80% of AUM ESG-integrated by 2023.
The firm’s approach to responsible investing is built around the key pillars of restriction criteria, with exclusions covering all assets and more stringent criteria for sustainable and impact strategies; engagement and voting on specific ESG targets and themes; ESG integration across all three ESG components, and; Transparent reporting on topics such as exposure to potential controversies, climate emissions figures and other ESG performance metrics.
According to Goldman Sachs, NN IP’s expertise will strengthen its fund management and distribution platform across retail and institutional channels in Europe and help the company deliver long-term value to its clients. Additionally, the NN IP will add new capabilities to Goldman Sachs’ existing European footprint and accelerate growth in products including European equity and investment-grade credit, sustainable and impact equity, and green bonds.
David Knibbe, Chief Executive Officer of NN Group, said:
“NN Group and NN Investment Partners have a longstanding and successful shared history. We value this strong and constructive relationship that we have and we look forward to further building on it in a new form. This transaction brings together two international asset managers, each with many decades of investment experience. We have found a strong and professional partner in Goldman Sachs, providing an environment in which our NN Investment Partners colleagues can continue to thrive, while the combined investment expertise and scale will enhance the service offering to NN Investment Partners’ clients, including NN Group.”