Trillium ESG Global Equity Institutional PORIX

On May 8, 2024, Perpetual announced the divestment of its Corporate Trust and Wealth Management businesses to KKR through a scheme of arrangement, subject to a shareholder vote. If approved, this will see Perpetual become a stand-alone asset-management business. Importantly, the transaction will not directly impact the asset-management operations, investment teams, or strategies. Perpetual will remain a well-diversified, multiboutique, global asset manager. The transaction is also expected to remove the debt overhang resulting from the Pendal merger. Current CEO Rob Adams will retire following the completion of the transition, which is expected to be in February 2025. We note our current Above Average assessment of the Perpetual Parent is based on the firm’s long-standing record as a strong steward of investor capital (specifically for unitholders), and the sound platform the firm has provided for a growing suite of high-performance investment teams operating within their own boutiquelike structures. While there have been challenges at the head-stock level, there has remained a high degree of stability among the investment teams, who have remained focused on delivering outcomes for investors. We do not expect this to change in the near term. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the outlook and strategic direction of the firm, particularly as new management is appointed in due course. We will update our assessment of Perpetual’s Parent Pillar rating in the course of our normal review cycle, as the transition progresses.