Agreement Supports Aegon AM's US CLO
Platform Growth While Expanding Lakemore's Global Institutional
Client Base
CHICAGO, April 27,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aegon Asset Management today
announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with
Lakemore Partners Ltd. and its group entities ("Lakemore"), a
leading private credit investment firm primarily investing in
super-majority control collateralized loan obligation (CLO) equity.
The agreement aims to expand Aegon AM's leading credit capabilities
through the growth of its US CLO platform. Simultaneously, the
partnership grows Lakemore's repertoire of top-tier institutional
clients.
"With assets under management of $311
billion, we will continue to grow our US CLO business and
offer our clients attractive alternative fixed income products
through our partnership with Lakemore," said Bas NieuweWeme, global
CEO of Aegon AM.
"In a highly volatile and challenging macroeconomic environment,
CLOs can provide uncorrelated, transparent, and relatively high
current cash flow distributions," said Mohamed Seif, co-founder & managing partner
of Lakemore. "Through our strategic partnership and focus on cycle
aligned portfolio construction Aegon AM will be able to leverage
our proven experience and further strengthen their CLO
platform."
Under the terms of the agreement, Lakemore will make multiple
investments in Aegon AM's CLO capability, providing equity for the
issuance of multiple CLOs in the coming years. In return, Lakemore
will gain preferred access to Aegon AM's pipeline of new issue CLO
transactions, allowing for enhanced certainty of execution and a
path toward significant growth.
"We have experience managing leveraged loans since the late
1990s and know that unexpected changes in business cycles can
create the biggest market dislocations," said Jim Schaeffer, global head of leveraged finance
at Aegon AM. "Our cycle-based approach to navigating inflection
points is a key aspect of our philosophy, and we have chosen to
partner with Lakemore given the firm's commitment to methodical,
defensive and cycle-aligned risk allocation discipline."
As a leading global investor and employer, Aegon AM has 380
investment professionals that manage and advise on assets of over
$311 billion for a global client-base
of pension plans, public funds, insurance companies, banks, wealth
managers, family offices and foundations. The parent company Aegon
N.V., headquartered in The Hague, the
Netherlands, offers products and services in the life
insurance, pension, retirement, and asset management fields. Aegon
N.V. has businesses across Europe,
Asia and the Americas with its
main brands being Aegon and Transamerica.
"At Aegon AM, we are big believers that a defensive credit style
and broad diversification helps mitigate portfolio risk," said
Jason Felderman, head of leveraged
loans and portfolio manager at Aegon AM. "To that end, we look
forward to working with an experienced partner like Lakemore, which
will offer us enhanced market access and further solidify our
ability to take full advantage of new issue CLO opportunities."
With offices in Phoenix,
London, Dubai and Zurich, Lakemore has established a strong
presence globally, working with a growing number of institutional
clients in the US and globally. Lakemore primarily invests in
super-majority control equity positions of new issue US CLOs.
Lakemore has invested in various CLO tranches through all market
cycles to provide its investors with stable and predictable cash
flow distributions and attractive investment returns.
"Lakemore is committed to serving our global clientele of
institutional investors through providing CLO solutions that foster
relative stability, high uncorrelated current cash distributions,
and risk dispersion," said Dan
Norman, senior partner, head of US business operations at
Lakemore. "Today's partnership with Aegon AM enhances our roster of
global top-tier clients, and we look forward to growing our
strategic partnership over the coming years."
About Aegon Asset Management
Aegon Asset Management is comprised of active global investors.
Our 380 investment professionals manage and advise on assets of
over $311 billion for a global
client-base of pension plans, public funds, insurance companies,
banks, wealth managers, family offices and foundations (as of
December 31, 2022).
We organize our investment capabilities around four focused
investment platforms where we have extensive asset-class expertise:
Fixed Income, Real Assets, Equities and Multi-Asset &
Solutions. Each platform has dedicated teams and is committed to
maximizing their specialist areas.
By organizing our fixed income teams globally, we work to
harness our expertise and research resources across regional
boundaries. We believe this enhances our performance potential and
helps provide better investment outcomes for clients.
Across platforms, we share a common belief in fundamental,
research-driven active management, underpinned by effective risk
management. Our investment platforms have the flexibility to
organize their resources and processes to best suit their area of
focus.
We are a global business: Our 1,200 employees work across
Europe, the Americas and
Asia. We invest globally and serve
clients locally. For more information about Aegon Asset Management,
visit www.aegonam.com.
About Lakemore Partners
Lakemore is a leading private credit investment firm primarily
investing in super-majority control CLO equity positions of new
issue US CLOs. Serving as a partner of choice for global top-tier
loan managers who are aligned with the firm's portfolio management
style and risk appetite, Lakemore aims to deliver attractive
returns by leveraging the extensive expertise of its dedicated team
and by investing within its well-defined framework of cycle-aligned
risk allocation. Founded in 2016, Lakemore has offices in
Phoenix, London, Dubai
and Zurich. Lakemore's mission
focuses on providing sustainable and reliable income, working
closely with institutional clients in the US, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please
visit www.lakemore.com.
Lakemore Partners Ltd. is the group parent and is domiciled in
the Cayman Islands. Lakemore
Partners Management US LLC and Lakemore Partners (UK) Ltd. are
registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission as
investment advisers (RIA). Lakemore Partners (UK) Ltd. (FRN:
837603) is also an appointed representative of Kroll Securities
Ltd. (FRN: 466588), which is authorized and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority. Lakemore Partners (DIFC) Ltd. is
regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Lakemore
Partners (Switzerland) GmbH is
registered and domiciled in Zurich,
Switzerland. Lakemore Partners Management US LLC, Lakemore
Partners (UK) Ltd., Lakemore Partners (DIFC) Ltd., and Lakemore
Partners (Switzerland) GmbH are
wholly owned subsidiaries of Lakemore Partners Ltd.
This material is provided by Aegon Asset Management (Aegon AM)
as general information and is intended exclusively for
institutional and wholesale investors, as well as professional
clients (as defined by local laws and regulation) and other Aegon
AM stakeholders. This document is for informational purposes only
in connection with the marketing and advertising of products and
services, and is not investment research, advice or a
recommendation. It shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation to buy any investment nor shall any offer of products
or services be made to any person in any jurisdiction where
unlawful or unauthorized. All investments contain risk and may lose
value. Any opinions, estimates, or forecasts expressed are the
current views of the author(s) at the time of publication and are
subject to change without notice. This document may contain
"forward-looking statements" which are based on Aegon AM's beliefs,
as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events,
based on information currently available. These statements involve
certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to
predict. No guarantee is being made that stated outcomes will be
achieved.
The following Aegon affiliates are collectively referred to
herein as Aegon Asset Management: Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC (Aegon AM US),
Aegon USA Realty Advisors, LLC
(Aegon RA), Aegon Asset Management UK plc (Aegon AM UK), and Aegon
Investment Management B.V. (Aegon AM NL). Each of these Aegon Asset
Management entities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon
N.V.
Aegon AM UK is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct
Authority (FRN: 144267) and is additionally a registered investment
adviser with the United States
(US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Aegon AM US and
Aegon RA are both US SEC registered investment advisers. Aegon AM
NL is registered with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial
Markets as a licensed fund management company and on the basis of
its fund management license is also authorized to provide
individual portfolio management and advisory services in certain
jurisdictions. Aegon AM NL has also entered into a participating
affiliate arrangement with Aegon AM US.
©2023 Aegon Asset Management or its affiliates. All rights
reserved.
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SOURCE Aegon Asset Management