Insight Investment is one of the largest global asset management companies, responsible for £681 billion of assets under management on 31 March 2020 represented by the value of cash securities and other economic exposure managed for clients. It manages strategies covering liability-driven investment, fixed income, cash, absolute return, multi-asset, specialist equities and real assets, such as farmland. Insight is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon, a multinational financial services corporation. The UK banking group HBOS formed Insight Investment in 2002 by merging its asset management arms, which included Clerical Medical Investment Management. In 2003, Insight Investment acquired Rothschild Asset Management, which specialised in fixed income investments. In 2009, BNY Mellon acquired Insight from Lloyds Banking Group, which formally acquired HBOS earlier that year. In 2013, Insight merged with Pareto Investment Management, a currency risk manager. In early 2015, BNY Mellon acquired US-based fixed income and solutions specialist Cutwater Asset Management. It is operated by Insight Investment. Insight is headquartered in London and has offices in Frankfurt, New York, Sydney and Tokyo. Insight Investment was a founding signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, and is also a signatory to the UKStewardship Code administered by the Financial Reporting Council. The PRI assigned Insight A+ ratings in 2019 for strategy and governance, corporate financial and non-corporate financial fixed income and an A rating for securitised fixed income. The Financial Reporting Council gave Tier 1 status to Insight in 2016, signifying that the company provides "a good quality and transparent description of approach to stewardship and explanations of an alternative approach where necessary".
History
Insight Investment was launched in 2002. It was formed from the merger of the asset management arms of UK banking group HBOS: Clerical Medical Investment Management, Halifax Fund Management and the investment division of Equitable Life. Douglas Ferrans was Insight's first CEO and played a significant role in its formation and launch. In 2003, Insight acquired Rothschild Asset Management, which was well known for its fixed income solutions and multimanager funds, and property investment manager Gatehouse Investment Management. In 2006, Insight demerged its property investment unit and floated it on the Aim market at the London Stock Exchange as Invista Real Estate Investment Management. In 2007, Abdallah Nauphal became CEO of Insight. He already held a dual role as deputy CEO and chief investment officer of the company. He joined Insight as head of fixed income in April 2003 after the acquisition of Rothschild Asset Management, where he was chief investment officer for fixed income. He was previously head of fixed income at Schroder Investment Management. In 2009, Insight's parent company HBOS was acquired by Lloyds Banking Group. Later that year, BNY Mellon acquired Insight Investment from Lloyds. Lloyds retained most of the equity assets managed by Insight and transferred them to Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the group's primary in-house asset manager after the sale of Insight. This left Insight as an asset manager primarily focused on fixed income and LDI strategies. It transferred its headquarters in early 2011 to share a building with BNY Mellon in Blackfriars, London. In 2012, Insight announced that it would merge with Pareto Investment Management, a currency risk manager with £27 billion of assets under management. The merger was complete at the beginning of 2013. Pareto was also owned by BNY Mellon. In early 2015, BNY Mellon acquired US-based fixed income and solutions specialist Cutwater Asset Management. It is operated by Insight. Insight has reported an increase in its assets under management for external clients in every year since its launch.
Awards
Insight Investment has won over 29 industry awards since the beginning of 2017.
