Global Asset Management

GAM

Type	Public limited company
Traded as	SIX: GAM
ISIN	CH0102659627
Industry	Asset management
Founded	1983 (as GAM)
Headquarters	Zürich, Switzerland
Key people	Alexander S. Friedman (CEO)
AUM	CHF 126.9 billion
Number of employees	ca. 1000
Website	www.gam.com

GAM (SIX: GAM) is an independent, pure play asset management group.

The Group sells to a wide range of client segments such as institutions, wholesale intermediaries, financial advisers, and private investors through two brands — Julius Baer Funds and GAM. The Group’s investment management business is complemented by a private labelling unit which provides outsourcing for third-party asset managers.

Headquartered in Zurich, GAM has been independently listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since October 2009, following the separation of the former Julius Baer Group Julius Baer, and is a component of the Swiss Market Index Mid (SMIM) SIX Swiss Exchange with the symbol “GAM”. The Group has assets under management of CHF 126.9 billion (as at 31 March 2017) and employs around 1,000 staff with offices in 13 countries.

GAM was founded in 1983 by Gilbert de Botton, who is considered the pioneer of the "open architecture" model. In 1999, it was acquired by UBS. It remained under the UBS umbrella until Julius Baer acquired GAM and three other private banks from UBS in 2005. GAM acquired Augustus Asset Managers in 2009, and later in the year separated from Julius Baer to form an independent, pure-play asset manager. The spinoff was completed by listing GAM as a separate company in the Swiss SIX exchange.

GAM has since then has acquired several asset managers: Arkos Capital in 2012 and Singleterry Mansley Asset Management in 2014. In September 2014 it appointed Alexander Friedman, the CIO of UBS Wealth Management, as the new Group CEO. Later, in 2015, GAM announced the acquisition of the real estate division of Renshaw Bay. In May 2016, GAM entered into an agreement to acquire the investment management business of Taube Hodson Stonex, a London-based global equity investment firm: the acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter 2016, subject to customary regulatory approvals. In June 2016, GAM entered into an agreement to acquire Cantab Capital Partners, an industry-leading multi strategy systematic manager based in Cambridge, UK. This acquisition was closed on 3 October 2016 following regulatory approval.