Blackwattle buys boutique equities manager Quest
What's the deal? Blackwattle Investment Partners has acquired Australian equities manager Quest Asset PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for an undisclosed sum. The deal brings Quest's five-person investment team and its Australian-equities strategies onto Blackwattle's larger platform; the price and assets under management were not disclosed.
Who's involved? Quest was founded in 2004 by Michael Evans and Chris Cahill after they worked together in AMP's equities business, and it manages Australian equities for institutional, wholesale and private investors. Sydney-based Blackwattle launched in 2023, backed by some of Australia's wealthiest families, and is led by chief investment officer Michael Skinner and chief executive Jarred Rubin.
What changes? The Quest team becomes partners in the combined business and will soon manage two Blackwattle portfolios: the Blackwattle Large Cap Quality Fund and the Blackwattle Long-Short 130/30 Quality Fund. Quest keeps its team, process and strategies, while Blackwattle supplies operational, compliance, risk, marketing, distribution and technology support.
What's the rationale? "We were attracted to a unique structure that preserves everything that's good about being a boutique fund manager, while giving us the scale and capabilities of a bigger platform," said Quest portfolio manager Swapan Pandya.
Why it matters: Skinner said the deal "adds a proven investment capability, meaningful funds under management and five experienced investors to Blackwattle, and gives Quest's clients the backing of a larger, well-resourced business."
The signal: The combination lands amid a busy stretch of Australian asset-management consolidation, with RBCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → agreeing to buy Yarra Capital and Munro Partners completing its purchase of GSFM. Unlike those larger platform deals, Blackwattle–Quest reads as a boutique capability-and-scale play, and its success will hinge on retaining Quest's team and clients.
Read more: financialstandard.com.au
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