MetLife Investment Management to acquire London firm

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MetLife Investment Management, an asset management business based in Whippany, announced Aug. 29 that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire London-based Affirmative Investment Management. 

An MIM representative told NJBIZ that financial terms of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, will not be disclosed. 

Affirmative is a specialist global environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) impact fixed income investment manager. As of June 30, its assets under management were $1.01 billion.  

“By combining AIM’s expertise with MIM’s commitment to sustainable investing, we will be even better positioned to provide comprehensive insight and counsel to clients and consultants on ESG considerations,” Steven Goulart, president of MIM and executive vice president and chief investment officer for MetLife, said in a statement.  

“MIM will maintain its fundamental investment processes, and AIM brings us additional capabilities to evaluate sustainability and risk considerations across our core competencies in public fixed income, private fixed income and real estate,” Goulart added. 

Last week, MIM announced it originated a record $9.2 billion in private placement debt and private structured credit during the first half of 2022. At that time, MIM said sustainability played a large role in the transactions, with approximately $500 million in green bonds and $100 million in sustainability-linked notes purchased.   

Stephen Fitzgerald, who co-founded AIM in 2014, said his team was pleased to join MIM to “continue our mission of managing high-performing portfolios that consider positive environmental and social impact.” 

As of June 30, MIM’s private placement assets under management totaled $90.5 billion.