New York Life Investments Expands Global Footprint With Major Acquisition

Stephen Little

4 February 2014

New York Life Investments, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, has acquired the troubled Franco-Belgian banking group, Dexia Asset Management, for €380 million , as part of its plans to expand in Europe and Australia.

The deal includes Dexia's Australian boutique fund manager, Ausbil, which will join New York Life Investments’ network of investment boutiques.

The acquisition adds $100 billion in assets under management, bringing New York Life Investments’ total assets under management to $511 billion, New York Life said in a statement.

Naïm Abou-Jaoudé will continue in his role as chief executive and chairman of the executive committee of Dexia Asset Management, while Paul Xiradis remains as CEO of Ausbil.

Yie-Hsin Hung, in addition to her current role as co-president of New York Life Investment Management and chairman of New York Life Investment Management International, will become chairman of the board of directors of Dexia Asset Management. Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, meanwhile, will join the executive committee of New York Life Investment Management International as vice chairman.

The acquisition of Dexia comes after what has been a troubled time for the group. In the wake of the financial crisis, Dexia was bailed out with public funds and has since suffered heavy losses.

New York Life Investments had $411 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2013, and offers access to fixed income, equities and alternative products for institutional and retail clients.

Ausbil Dexia had $9.07 billion in funds under management, as of December 31, 2013.