NISA Investment Advisors entered into a letter of intent allowing the complete transfer of the co-founders' current equity interests in the business to the existing senior management team, confirmed Jess B. Yawitz, co-founder, chairman and CEO, in an email.
After the transaction closes, NISA's senior management team will own all voting interests in the company. Meanwhile, the company's co-founders and majority owners, Mr. Yawitz and William J. Marshall, will receive a long-term, non-voting preferred stake in the company. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
This ownership transfer allows NISA to remain fully employee-owned. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018 and would be effective Jan. 1, 2019.
Mr. Marshall plans to retire from his role as president sometime in 2018, while Mr. Yawitz will continue to be chairman and CEO following the completion of the transfer deal. No other changes are planned at NISA, said Mr. Yawitz in an email.
NISA Investment Advisors provides liability-driven investing and derisking strategies for pension plans and has more than $156 billion in assets under management. The AUM figure does not include $105 billion of notional value of derivatives managed by NISA.