WTW signs agreement with Carne Group to drive innovation in the asset management industry

25 January 2022

WTW (Willis Towers Watson, NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company and Carne Group (Carne), a leading digitally driven platform for the global asset management industry and Europe’s leading third-party fund management company, today announced they have agreed a transaction which will drive innovation in the asset management industry.

Carne, as part of its key objective to become the global leading digitally driven platform, will acquire The Asset Management Exchange (“AMX”) from WTW, subject to regulatory approvals. In return, WTW will take a minority stake in Carne adding scale and growth opportunities to its own client solutions platforms. AMX is building an efficient investment ecosystem using technology to transform conventional ways of working. It connects investors, asset managers and service partners so they can transact and interact all in one place through its institutional funds platform. AMX’s ecosystem and investor relationships will complement Carne’s service offering which includes third-party management company, due diligence, distribution and technology platforms.

The transaction will see Carne employ over 500 highly talented professionals, working with more than 600 leading asset managers and institutional investors, across 11 offices worldwide. Its third-party fund management company will manage in excess of US$300 billion AUM with over US$2Tn on its proprietary technology, CORR. Together Carne and AMX will be able to meet the future needs of institutional investors, asset managers, distributors and service partners. Investors will have broader access to fund managers and efficient structures, whilst fund managers and distributors will have optimised products coming to market, driving faster time to revenue.

Welcoming the announcement, Carl Hess, CEO, WTW said: “We are excited to have agreed this transaction with Carne Group, and we look forward to working together with Carne as a partner and investor. Five years ago, AMX was established to transform investor experience and outcomes. Now as part of Carne, AMX can realise its full potential, delivering new products and enhanced services to a wider section of our client base in more jurisdictions and asset classes. I am incredibly proud of WTW’s role in developing AMX into an ecosystem which today facilitates critical interactions between institutional investors, asset managers and service partners across an asset pool of approximately $60bn.” *

“Carne and AMX have incredible people and technology, combined with unrivaled industry expertise. Together they can accelerate the pace of industry change for investors and managers through what will be the leading industry platform”, he added.

John Donohoe, CEO, Carne Group said: “Carne’s ultimate goal is to unite the industry’s investors and distributors with their asset managers resulting in faster deployment of investment capital. Our industry platform, driven by our proprietary technology CORR, accelerates revenue generation as well as delivering enhanced reporting. Now, with AMX as part of Carne, we can offer even better solutions to our clients and the entire industry through one of the sector’s leading digitally driven global platforms.”

Source: WTW