The Walter Group of Companies, based in Montreal, has launched Walter Asset Management (WAM) , a new North American private equity platform specializing in consolidating the expertise of small and medium-sized players in the asset management sector, the group announced on Monday.
The new firm, which is headed by industry veteran Sylvain Brosseau, aims to acquire firms and solutions in Canada and the U.S., and to help drive their growth.
WAM has an initial investment of $40 million from the Walter Group of Companies, which operates private equity subsidiaries, Walter Financial and Walter Capital Partners. It hopes to raise at least $100 million to invest in the sector.
“With the strength of the Walter Group behind us, we will be able to create synergies for the benefit of the firms in which we invest, particularly in research, business development, information technology and human resources management,” says Brosseau, president and CEO of WAM, in a statement.
Until last year, Brosseau was president and chief operating officer of Fiera Capital Corp. Prior to that, he worked at TAL Global Asset Management.
“We want to create a unique ecosystem in which investment firms have the flexibility and agility to innovate and perform while benefiting from the support of the Walter Group to reach new heights,” he adds.