GW&K continues to spread its wings 6 years after getting new parent
Skip to main content
pilogo-NEW
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • login
  • NEWS
    • Asset owners and the coronavirus
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • Frontlines
    • Hedge Funds
    • Investing / Portfolio Strategies
    • Money Management
    • Pension Funds
    • People Moves
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Searches & Hires News
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Reports
    • WorldPensionSummit
    • Ron Schmitz
      Pandemic drives faster transition for Virginia to private markets
      Mubadala Investment Co. logo
      Mubadala draws on portfolio in coronavirus fight
      T.J. Carlson
      Texas Muni reduces downside risk during pandemic, finding opportunities now
      Scott Davis
      ‘Triage plan’ at Indiana system helped stem losses
    • watch video
      0:45
      Private funds weathered 2020 turmoil
      Daniel McHugh
      Aviva Investors promotes from within for real assets CIO
      Marc Rowan
      More alts managers seek expansion to retail market
      Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong on Sept. 1, 2017
      Ariel launches effort to boost minority managers
    • Kieran Mistry
      Hymans Robertson picks head for new non-traditional risk transfer unit
      Troy Saharic
      NEPC brings on director of new business development
      Bill Foley
      Foley-backed SPAC agrees to $7.3 billion deal with Alight
      Jason Schwarz, chief operating officer of Wilshire,
      New owners have big plans for future of Wilshire
    • Mitchells & Butlers turns off tap on pension contributions until April
      Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, adjusts his glasses during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on Sept 24, 2020.
      Powell says Fed will hold steady during economic recovery
      Institutional investors mobilize for equitable global COVID-19 response
      Few participants tapped savings to weather pandemic – Vanguard
    • DC plan sponsors differ on need for annuities – survey
      Biden’s retirement idea getting the cold shoulder
      Few participants tapped savings to weather pandemic – Vanguard
      pie chart with calculator
      Fidelity: Savers added big to retirement accounts in Q4
    • After strong 2020, ESG investments forecast to grow more – Moody's
      Emissions rise from the coal fired power plant in South Carolina
      U.K. managers seen pressuring firms on diversity, climate change
      Asset management industry remains vastly white, male – survey
      Institutional investors mobilize for equitable global COVID-19 response
    • Donation illustration
      Jefferies will use trading commissions to do good
      Michael Arougheti
      SPACs ride wave as latest investment darling
      Spirit winners
      Prudential honors young people who are helping out
      2 U.K. pension execs take on ESG investing in new podcast
    • Robert 'Rob' Shafir listens during a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing in Washington on Feb. 26, 2014
      Sculptor hedge fund hits sixth straight year of outflows
      The WallStreetBets forum on the Reddit Inc. website on a laptop computer and the GameStop logo on a smartphone in an arranged photo.
      GameStop frenzy has hedge fund managers rethinking next moves
      Gabe Plotkin, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of Melvin Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York on May 6, 2019
      Citadel, Point72 back Melvin with $2.75 billion after losses
      Shanghai skyline
      Global hedge funds struggle even in a more open China market
    • Border to Coast picks 5 managers for infrastructure, makes first co-investment
      Minnesota earmarks $1.6 billion for 7 private markets funds
      After strong 2020, ESG investments forecast to grow more – Moody's
      Praesidium chooses director of client service, business development
    • Kimberley Stafford and Alec Kersman
      PIMCO names product strategy group head
      Praesidium chooses director of client service, business development
      York Capital appoints new managing director
      Jeff Doran
      Spark Capital brings on head of investor relations
    • New Hampshire taps New Mexico fund chief as new executive director
      IBM to input $300 million into international pension plans
      Arconic transfers $240 million in pension liabilities
      S. Korea’s National Pension Service gains almost 10% in 2020
    • New Hampshire taps New Mexico fund chief as new executive director
      Kimberley Stafford and Alec Kersman
      PIMCO names product strategy group head
      Praesidium chooses director of client service, business development
      York Capital appoints new managing director
    • Carlyle secures $4.1 billion ESG-related credit facility
      Hamilton Lane raises $3.9 billion for fifth secondary fund
      PSG closes first Europe-focused fund at $1.5 billion
      Kohlberg closes latest private equity fund at $3.4 billion
    • Sebastiano Ferrante and Jocelyn de Verdelon
      PGIM Real Estate turns to staff to fill new roles
      European managers key in on specialist strategies
      Ingrid Jacobs
      Jones Lang LaSalle brings on head of diversity and inclusion
      EQT inks deal to buy real estate manager
    • Neal and Brady
      Retirement security could be only issue both sides accept
      Retirement cartoon
      Hopes rising for retirement readiness in 2021
      Shawn O'Brien
      Annuities coming to target-date funds, but not right away
      David Ireland
      Sponsors returning to questions about in-plan annuities
    • Charging Bull, sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, a bronze sculpture that stands on Broadway just north of Bowling Green in the Financial District of New York City
      Top-performing managers Q4 2020
      P&I 1,000 largest retirement plans: 2021
      Retirement in emerging markets
      Outlook 2021
    • U.S. still a key market for investors
      Collected coverage of P&I's 2020 WorldPensionSummit
      Pedestrians pass a large advertisement on the Arndale Center shopping mall reading 'Act now to avoid a local lockdown' in Manchester, England
      COVID-19 puts new opportunities and risks on the agenda - WPS panelists
      Screens display stock price information over the trading floor of the NYSE Euronext exchange in Paris
      Private assets will continue to grow in portfolios – WPS panelists
  • Data
    • Research Center
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • Searches & Hires News
    • RFPs
    • Charts / Infographics
    • Sponsored Research
    • Trackers
    • Q2 2020 searches and hires overview report
      Q2 2020 money manager M&A activity summary
      Q2 2020 legal overview report
      Q1 2020 searches and hires overview report
    • Border to Coast picks 5 managers for infrastructure, makes first co-investment
      Minnesota earmarks $1.6 billion for 7 private markets funds
      West Virginia slates $30 million for buyout fund
      Ohio Public Employees goes with NEPC as sole consultant
    • Border to Coast picks 5 managers for infrastructure, makes first co-investment
      Minnesota earmarks $1.6 billion for 7 private markets funds
      West Virginia slates $30 million for buyout fund
      Ohio Public Employees goes with NEPC as sole consultant
    • Emerging Market Equity Manager Services
      Securitized Credit Manager Search
      Private Placements Asset Manager Search
      Actuarial Consultant Search
    • Taiwan Semiconductor’s No. 1 in the emerging markets book
      U.S. fixed-income returns post another positive year
      Nasdaq delivers an impressive year
      U.S. dollar's recent decline continues
    • Institutional Investors: Shared Expectations, Divergent Paths
      Global Investor Study 2016
      Workplace Financial Wellness
    • U.S. Endowment Returns Tracker
      Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      Earnings Tracker
      Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
  • Insights
    • Opinion
    • White Papers
    • Industry Voices
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Partner Content
    • Publisher's Update
    • Tesla cartoon
      Don’t confuse wealth creation with retirement saving
      Top 1000 cartoon
      Top 1,000 retirement plans weather storm just fine
      Infrastructure cartoon
      You must go big on infrastructure, Mr. President
      Retirement cartoon
      Hopes rising for retirement readiness in 2021
    • Shifting DC Times – Winter 2021
      Bond ETFs show maturity during Covid market mayhem
      Pension Consolidation: Optimizing Scale and Maximizing Efficiency
      China is embarking on a new stage of growth
    • Lawrence Cunningham
      Commentary: Gensler should keep Clayton’s pragmatic proxy adviser rules
      My-Linh Ngo
      Commentary: Pension funds and the role of the debt market in the fight against climate change
      Bill Peressini
      Commentary: Carbon’s elemental role in the future of impact investing
      Teresa Ghilarducci
      Commentary: Lower rates for longer mean a drastic rethink on funding
    • Writer using a typewriter
      OCIO industry needs to adopt GIPS
      Writer or journalist workplace. stock illustration
      Even as it assails China, Trump administration emulates it
      Skeptical of Main Street support for proxy adviser proposal
      Focus on manager diversity pushes asset owners’ to walk the talk
    • P&I Content Solutions
      How will gold react?
      To people shaking hands
      P&I Content Solutions
      Lessons From 2020: Today’s OCIO Model Passes a Major Test of Governance
      Sponsored Content By MassMutual
      Leveraging Data to Manage Risk
      Sponsored Content By iShares
      ETFs are becoming a cornerstone of insurance equity portfolios
    • Help us help you by supporting quality journalism
      You Must Believe in Spring
      Everything Must Change
      Tomatoes & Investments
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Polls
    • Slideshows
    • Charts / Infographics
    • watch video
      0:45
      Private funds weathered 2020 turmoil
      watch video
      0:59
      Secure choice and other retirement plans at a state level
      watch video
      3:33
      P&I 1,000 by the numbers 2021
      watch video
      1:33
      A look at hiring activity in 2020
    • Emerging Markets: Expanding Investors’ View
      2021: A Fixed Income Odyssey
      Technology is the New Oil: The Changing Nature of Emerging Markets
      Powering the Change: The power of diversity and inclusion
    • POLL: Working after the pandemic
      POLL: The year ahead for the 1,000 largest U.S. retirement funds
      POLL: The Biden administration’s economic plans
      POLL: Retirement issues in 2021
    • view gallery
      9 photos
      Coronavirus and the markets
      view gallery
      22 photos
      The 1,000 largest retirement funds: 2020
      view gallery
      10 photos
      Outlook 2020
      view gallery
      10 photos
      2019 as seen through the eyes of Roger
    • By the Numbers for February 2021
      Top performing managers by category: commingled accounts, 4th Quarter 2020
      Top Performing Managers of Domestic Blend Equity, 4th Quarter 2020
      Top Performing Managers of Domestic Intermediate-Duration Fixed Income, 4th Quarter 2020
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Webinars
    • Defined Contribution Spring Virtual Series
      DC Investment Lineup Virtual Series
      ESG Investing Virtual Series
      Private Markets Virtual Series
    • Emerging Markets: Expanding Investors’ View
      2021: A Fixed Income Odyssey
      Technology is the New Oil: The Changing Nature of Emerging Markets
      Powering the Change: The power of diversity and inclusion
  • Careers
  • Research Center
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. MONEY MANAGEMENT
June 23, 2014 01:00 AM

GW&K continues to spread its wings 6 years after getting new parent

James Comtois
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    GW&K's Thomas F.X. Powers, left, and T. Williams Roberts III

    GW&K Investment Management has tripled its assets under management and more than quadrupled its institutional AUM in the almost six years since it left from under the wing of former parent company Bank of New York Mellon and became an affiliate of Affiliated Managers Group Inc.

    The jump in institutional assets was driven in part by the Boston-based money manager having won European assets for the first time in its 40-year history.

    “It wasn't a plan that we had conceived. We just had such outstanding investment performance on our small-cap products that we were invited to bid on some mandates in Europe,” said Thomas F.X. Powers, co-president of Boston-based GW&K, in a telephone interview.

    As of May 31, GW&K had $550 million in European AUM.

    “We had the expertise and AMG had the distribution, so it was a partnership that came together pretty well,” added co-president T. Williams Roberts III in the same interview.

    When GW&K left BNY Mellon and joined Prides Crossing, Mass.-based AMG in October 2008, it had $6.8 billion in AUM, $929 million of which was institutional. Now, the firm manages $20.43 billion, $4 billion of which is institutional.

    “We plan to grow the institutional segment of our business,” Mr. Powers said.

    In addition to expanding into Europe, much of GW&K's growth is due to hiring additional institutional sales representatives. Messrs. Powers and Roberts said the firm has hired four institutional sales reps over the past three years.

    All told, GW&K currently has 101 employees, compared to 79 when it first joined AMG. The firm is in the middle of hiring six additional staff members (although not all of these positions are in the institutional division).

    While at BNY Mellon, its parent saw GW&K more as a domestic adviser, according to Mr. Roberts.

    “BNY Mellon's plans for outside the U.S. didn't include GW&K,” Mr. Roberts added. “They were helpful in making introductions to us on the institutional front, but they never thought about us moving outside the U.S.”

    This changed when the firm made the switch to AMG. With strong performance and a new set of resources provided by AMG, GW&K brought in European assets for the first time.

    “We won several mandates in Europe based on our excellent performance in our small-cap strategies,” Mr. Powers said. “We also leveraged some of AMG's contacts to win further mandates.”

    GW&K's small-cap core equity strategy returned 16.56% for the three years ended March 31, vs. 13.18% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 index, according to data from Marietta, Ga.-based eVestment. The five-year return was 26.88%, vs. 24.21% for its benchmark. Its 10-year return was 11.86%, vs. 8.53% for its benchmark. All returns are annualized.

    GW&K's small-cap growth equity strategy, meanwhile, returned an annualized 16.2% for the three years ended March 31, compared to 13.61% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Growth index. Its five-year return was an annualized 28.33%, vs. 25.24% for the index. The strategy was launched in April 2008.

    Although Messers. Roberts and Powers declined to disclose which mandates they have won, they revealed that some were in Germany and in the Netherlands.

    The firm is also growing physically. When GW&K renewed its lease at 222 Berkeley Streetin 2012, it took over an additional floor and expanded its lease to 34,000 square feet from 20,000 square feet. It then spent the following year renovating and modernizing the space.

    “In last couple of years, it made sense to take on an additional floor and revamp the space,” Mr. Roberts said.

    Looking forward, the firm expects to continue to grow its AUM both in the U.S. and Europe.

    “Our plan is to continue to diversify AUM, particularly through our small-cap suite of products,” Mr. Powers said. “As far as distribution goes, we're going to continue to focus on the institutional domestic market as well as leveraging AMG's global distribution team.”

    Related Articles
    AMG to add 2 firms to manager stable
    GW&K hires new international equity portfolio manager
    GW&K recruits large-cap equities portfolio manager
    GW&K recruits portfolio manager for taxable bond team
    Recommended for You
    PIMCO names product strategy group head
    PIMCO names product strategy group head
    Praesidium chooses director of client service, business development
    York Capital appoints new managing director
    Lessons From 2020: Today’s OCIO Model Passes a Major Test of Governance
    Sponsored Content: Lessons From 2020: Today’s OCIO Model Passes a Major Test of Governance
    sponsored
    Events
     
     
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Shifting DC Times - Winter 2021
    Bond ETFs show maturity during Covid market mayhem
    Pension Consolidation: Optimizing Scale and Maximizing Efficiency
    China is embarking on a new stage of growth
    GP-LED OPPORTUNITIES AT THE SMALLER END OF THE MARKET
    Gold Outlook 2021
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    pilogo-NEW
    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    150 N. Michigan Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • NEWS
      • Asset owners and the coronavirus
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • Frontlines
      • Hedge Funds
      • Investing / Portfolio Strategies
      • Money Management
      • Pension Funds
      • People Moves
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Searches & Hires News
      • SECURE Act
      • Special Reports
      • WorldPensionSummit
    • Data
      • Research Center
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • Searches & Hires News
      • RFPs
      • Charts / Infographics
      • Sponsored Research
      • Trackers
    • Insights
      • Opinion
      • White Papers
      • Industry Voices
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Partner Content
      • Publisher's Update
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
      • Polls
      • Slideshows
      • Charts / Infographics
    • Events
      • Conferences
      • Webinars
    • Careers
    • Research Center