Robeco Investment Management is exiting the U.S. fixed-income business, the manager announced today.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management agreed to assume management of $4.8 billion in taxable U.S. fixed-income assets currently managed by Robeco Weiss, Peck and Greer. Robeco will also exit its U.S. municipal fixed-income business, though the company did not say which firm will manage the assets.
The Morgan Stanley transaction will close in May, while a deal for the municipal fixed-income business is expected to close in the first half of the year.
Robeco is making the moves because sufficient scale was not achieved to provide a platform for significant long-term growth, a company news release said.
The firm will continue to manage more than $60 billion in global fixed income from the Netherlands. In the U.S., Robeco will continue to manage a total of $18 billion in value and core equity as well as alternative investment strategies.
Jefferies Putnam Lovell served as the exclusive financial adviser to Robeco in the sale of its U.S. taxable fixed-income division.
Officials at Robeco and Morgan Stanley could not be immediately reached for further details.