Voya Investment Management (IM) has acquired the technology of G Squared Capital (G2) to boost its equity investment business.
The financial details of the transaction were not divulged.
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Founded in 2011, G2 is based in London and focuses on delivering customised investment solutions. The company uses artificial intelligence to find persistent patterns in company and ESG data.
Voya IM Equities head Michael Pytosh said: “This transaction supports our focus on building best-in-class equity portfolios that meet our clients’ long-term investment needs.
“Further, our new EMI team has the knowledge base and tools to accelerate Voya’s efforts to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in our investment selection process.”
As agreed, Voya IM will also hire the founding team of G2, which includes Dr Gareth Shepherd, Gabriel Andraos and Yana Kramer, to form the new Equity Machine Intelligence (EMI) group within Voya IM’s Quantitative Equities business.
Based in London, the unit will continue to work on alternative approach to equity investing and offer new active equity and ESG-integrated solutions.
It will report to Voya IM head of Quantitative Equity Vincent Costa.
Costa stated: “This team is a great cultural fit and aligns with our long-term strategic objectives to continue to invest in our quantitative investment capabilities and bolster the data and analytics that underpin all of the investment strategies on the equity platform.
“Their technology, research and development advances our current platform, and brings advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, increasingly seen as the next frontier for asset managers.”
Voya IM is the asset management business of Voya Financial.
Following the transaction, the company’s quantitative team now manages around $24bn in assets and includes 13 investment professionals.
