The planned transfers of investment fund management contracts are expected to push through in the fourth quarter
Picton Mahoney Asset Management and PenderFund Capital Management have announced separate plans to acquire investment fund management contracts for selected investment funds managed by Vertex One.
Picton Mahoney and Vertex One Asset Management have entered into a letter of intent, which proposes that investment fund contracts for five Vertex hedge funds and alternative mutual funds, representing approximately $380 million in assets, would be acquired by Picton Mahoney. These include:
- Vertex Arbitrage Fund;
- Vertex Arbitrage Fund Plus;
- Vertex Liquid Alternative Fund;
- Vertext Liquid Alternative Fund Plus; and
- Vertex Bond Alpha Fund
“We are pleased to acquire some of Canada's leading risk arbitrage investment strategies to complement our broad line-up of alternative solutions," said David Picton, president, CEO & portfolio manager at Picton Mahoney. “The addition of these Vertex One Funds will offer more choice and access to solutions, consistent with our philosophy of helping investors meet their long-term goals with more certainty.”
Craig Chilton and Tom Savage, who intend to join Picton Mahoney once the proposed transaction closes, will continue in their roles as portfolio managers of the funds. Picton Mahoney will become the investment fund manager and portfolio manager of each of the funds, which will be renamed to continue under the Picton Mahoney branded family of funds.
PenderFund Capital Management has also entered into an agreement with Vertex One, whereby Pender will acquire investment fund management contracts for the following five Vertex One-managed funds:
- Vertex Value Fund;
- Vertex Enhanced Income Fund;
- Vertex Growth Fund;
- Vertex Fund; and
- Vertex Managed Value Portfolio
Upon the completion of the proposed transaction, Pender will take over as investment fund manager and portfolio manager of the five Vertex funds. John Thiessen, co-founder of Vertex One and current portfolio manager of the Vertex Fund and Vertex Growth Fund, will also serve as independent advisor to Pender and the Pender Strategic Growth & Income Fund.
Both firms are also considering merging the Vertex Fund, Vertex Growth Fund, and the Vertex Enhanced Income Fund into the Pender Strategic Growth & Income Fund as part of the transaction. Under the agreement, Pender has an option to merge any of the Vertex Funds into one or more funds managed by Pender, subject to regulatory and unitholder approvals.
The transactions are expected to be finalized during the last quarter of 2019, subject to a definitive agreement among the parties concerned along with the required regulatory and unitholder approvals.
