A press release entitled, "Goldman Sachs Asset Management to Acquire RBS' Money Market Funds," says, "Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("GSAM") announced today that it will acquire the Global Treasury Funds, which are a range of money market funds managed by RBS Asset Management ("RBSAM"). GSAM has a long history of partnering with institutions to deliver liquidity solutions and over 30 years of experience managing money market funds using a conservative approach. This transaction complements GSAM's strong fixed income and liquidity management businesses in Europe and globally." Prior to the merger, GSAM was the 4th largest manager of "offshore" money funds (those sold to multinationals and domiciled in Dublin or Luxemburg) with over $61 billion in USD, Sterling and Euro money funds. Goldman is the 8th largest manager of U.S. money funds with over $126 billion (according to our MFI XLS).
The press release quotes Timothy J. O'Neill and Eric S. Lane, co-heads of the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs, "GSAM's acquisition of these money market funds emphasizes our strong and continued commitment to providing liquidity solutions on a global scale."
Kathleen Hughes, GSAM's Global Head of Liquidity Sales and European Head of Institutional Sales, adds, "GSAM is a global leader in liquidity management with $195 billion in money market fund assets under management, 33% of which is in Europe (source: GSAM). This acquisition has the potential to nearly double the size of our Sterling-denominated offering and strengthen GSAM's position in the European market, ensuring we are well positioned to deliver the scale and service that our clients have come to expect."
Scott McMunn, CEO of RBSAM, comments on the transaction, "From RBS's perspective, this transaction represents another stage in our strategic plan to focus on our core customer franchises. We are confident that this represents the best deal for our clients." The release adds, "RBS has decided to exit, confident that GSAM can provide its current clients with high caliber money market solutions and services."
It also says, "Both RBS and GSAM are fully committed to continuing excellent service for RBS money market fund clients and will work in partnership to ensure a seamless transition. There will be no changes in how accounts will be managed during the transition period and no expenses will be borne by any of the funds or investors. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Irish Stock Exchange (the Global Treasury Funds are Irish domiciled funds), as well as a fund investor vote."
Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence International, which tracks the offshore money fund market, tracks 24 managers (including RBS) overseeing almost $650 billion in assets, with $345 billion in US dollar funds, E77 billion in Euro funds, and L123 billion in Pound Sterling funds.
