IM Square passes a new milestone in its development

iM Square, the only European investment and development platform dedicated to asset management, has acquired a substantial minority equity stake in Dolan McEniry Capital Management (“Dolan McEniry Capital”), an independent US investment firm based in Chicago and specializing in investment grade and high yield U.S. corporate bonds. Founded in Chicago in 1997 by Daniel Dolan, the company has been owned fully and equally by Daniel Dolan and Roger McEniry. This transaction provided an opportunity for other key managers of the firm to become equity owners for the first time. Dolan McEniry currently manages $5.8 billion through five strategies. “Core plus” is the oldest strategy with a track record of close to 20 years. Other strategies, including recently introduced high yield and short duration products, have also delivered strong performances since their launch. All incorporate the firm’s fundamentals driven, value-oriented approach to investing.

This second investment in the United States for iM Square adds a complementary strategy to its portfolio after it acquired a 20% stake in Polen Capital, a highly-performing asset management firm specialising in US and Global growth equities, at the beginning of the year.

At the same time, iM Square is undertaking its first European investment by taking over the French fund management firm Montmartre AM, subject to approval by the French Regulator. iM Square will rename the firm iM Global Partner Europe, in order to transform it into its platform for commercial development across all of Europe. This strategic decision has been supported by the evolution in the regulatory framework announced by the AFG and AMF to strengthen the position of Paris as a financial hub. In this respect, iM Square plans to:

• Reinforce the team on the ground and develop the technical resources of the asset management firm
• Develop the existing range of short-term fixed-income products
• Launch French-domiciled funds, the management of which will be delegated to iM Square’s partners.

These two investments illustrate a new impetus in the expansion of iM Square, which was created in London in June 2015 by Philippe Couvrecelle and its founding shareholders: Amundi (the leading name in European asset management), Eurazeo (one of the top listed investment companies in Europe) and Dassault Group / La Maison (an investment group in which the Dassault Group is the main shareholder). iM Square is aiming to invest €250 million across 5 to 10 investments over the next 3 years. These will mainly be in the US, but the firm is also looking out for growing European and Asian entrepreneurial investment firms which are already mature, profitable and well-established in their local markets.

The year 2017 could see a fourth international shareholder enter iM Square’s capital structure in order to support the development projects of the platform, which will pick up momentum in the coming months.

On the subject of the Dolan McEniry investment, Philippe Couvrecelle, Chairman of iM Square, comments: « Dolan McEniry has enjoyed an excellent track record since its creation with strategies resisting particularly well in difficult market environments. We are looking for partners who are complementary in their expertise, with the aim of providing to our clients, a range of strategies that are able to withstand sluggish economies and markets as well as a potentially long period of low fixed income yields. »

On the topic of Montmartre AM, Philippe Couvrecelle adds: « This acquisition will allow us to build the foundations of our commercial platform in Europe. The team will be reinforced by the recruitment of both a sales director and a risk director. »