RHB AM in strategic partnership with New York-based private investment firm
KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Banking Group’s (RHB) entity, RHB Group Asset Management (RHB AM), has entered into a strategic partnership agreement (SPA) with a New York-based private, independent employee-owned global investment firm, Neuberger Berman (NB).
NB has US$243 billion in assets under management ( AUM) covering equities, fixed income and alternative investments with offices in 19 countries, globally, and more than 2,100 employees to date.
RHB AM managing director/ regional head Eliza Ong said under the five-year partnership, both groups would look at leveraging on each other’s core capabilities, experience and expertise.
“We will also work together to develop and offer private equity and other alternative strategies in both the conventional and Shariah space,” she said in a statement yesterday.
In conjuction with the SPA, RHB AM announced the launch of a multi-strategy private equity fund, a first-of-its kind in Asia, which is offered at RM1 per unit, with a minimum initial investment of RM100,000.
RHB said the fund aimed to achieve an attractive, risk-adjusted return on capital through the investment portfolio over seven years of charter life.
“The fund, which serves a management fee of 2.5 per cent of the net asset value annually, will leverage on NB’s private equity global platform to selected private equity strategies, including direct equity, direct private debt, opportunistic secondaries and specialty strategies,” it said.
RHB also said the private equity investment fell under the category of alternative asset class which had different characteristics compared with traditional asset classes such as equity and fixed income.
“With NB’s 29 years of experience and expertise, strong relationships with more than 300 general partners and over 14,000 private equityowned companies, we believe the long-term capital appreciation of between 15 per cent and 20 per cent gross internal rate of return for this fund can be achieved,” said Ong.
RHB said the fund would be overseen by NB’s team of over 100 dedicated investment professionals focused in private equity and with an AUM of US$35 billion.
“The fund will provide investors with exposure in United States and Europe, hence, providing them with the opportunity to diversify their investments,” it said. — Bernama