Invesco expands its ability to meet client needs by completing its acquisition of Guggenheim Investments’ ETF business

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Guggenheim Investments’ exchange-traded funds (ETF) business, which consists of $38.8 billion of assets under management (as of Feb. 28, 2018).

Strengthening our ETF capabilities for growth

The acquisition strengthens Invesco’s market-leading ETF capabilities1 as well as the firm’s efforts to meet the needs of institutional and retail clients in the US and across the globe, which will contribute further to the growth and long-term success of the business. With this acquisition, Invesco’s ETF assets under management total more than $215.3 billion globally (as of Feb. 28, 2018).
“Since our announcement of the proposed transaction in September 2017, we’ve continued to deliver strong investment performance for our clients and strengthened our business momentum while working toward a successful close of this transaction,” said Martin L. Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco.
“The addition of Guggenheim’s products to Invesco’s strong and diversified range of active, passive and alternative capabilities and expertise will further enhance our ability to meet the investment needs of our clients and deliver the value they seek.”
“We’re excited to add Guggenheim Investments’ complementary ETF business, including well-known products such as BulletShares® and S&P500® Equal Weight ETF (NYSE: RSP), to our existing robust range of factor, smart beta, fixed income and equal weight ETFs,” said Dan Draper, global head of ETFs at Invesco. “This acquisition strengthens our ability to build better and more diversified portfolios through our solutions platform, enhances the range of capabilities available via Jemstep (our advisor-focused digital solution), and helps us better meet the needs of our clients. Our focus continues to be on taking care of clients while leveraging our extensive client-facing distribution force to accelerate the growth of the business.”
The aggregate purchase price paid by Invesco upon completion of the transaction was $1.2 billion.

BulletShares® management fee reduction

Invesco also announced that the management fee for the BulletShares® ETFs that provide definedmaturity exposure through corporate bond investment-grade portfolios has been reduced to 0.10% (from 0.24%), effective today.
“The BulletShares® ETF suite combines the benefits and precision of individual bonds with the advantages of an ETF to save advisors time while providing better client portfolios and outcomes,” added Dan Draper. “Our research and client feedback shows that the market for a convenient, precise and liquid way to ladder bond portfolios for clients is growing rapidly. With more than a decade of ETF experience and compelling BulletShares® pricing, we believe Invesco is providing even better value to existing and future shareholders, and we’re well-positioned to accelerate the growth of this exciting market segment.”

Transitioning the funds

“We’re confident that Invesco is the right partner and platform to deliver continued value for our former ETF shareholders,” said Jerry W. Miller, president of Guggenheim Investments. “With the closing of this transaction, Guggenheim Investments takes an important step forward in our growth strategy to focus on active portfolio management for both institutional and individual clients.”

Effective as of the close of business on April 6, 2018, substantially all of the Guggenheim ETFs have been reorganized into corresponding newly created exchange traded funds of Invesco’s PowerShares family of ETFs in a tax-free transaction. A small number of Guggenheim ETFs are still awaiting shareholder approval to reorganize into PowerShares ETFs, and will be reorganized when that approval is received. The chart below lists the Guggenheim ETFs which have reorganized into Invesco’s PowerShares ETFs.