Paris-based private investment firm Ardian has opened an office in Montreal.
The firm has worked with pension plans, insurers, financial institutions, endowments and family offices in Canada for more than two decades, a release said, with client commitments representing more than US$9 billion of Ardian’s assets under management.
“With more than 50 long-standing clients in the region, Ardian’s on-the-ground Canadian presence will allow the firm to strengthen client relationships, build closer ties to the business and financial community, and capitalize on significant opportunities that align with Ardian’s most innovative and sustainable investment strategies,” the firm said in the release.
The firm said it sees continued investor demand in Canada, “with particular interest” from limited partners looking to diversify their holdings into strategies including secondaries, primaries, infrastructure, co-investments, and private credit.
In North America, Ardian also has offices in New York and San Francisco.
In September, Blackstone Inc., the world’s largest alternative asset manager, officially opened its Toronto office. A few days later, Toronto-based Obsiido Alternative Investments Inc. received regulatory approval in three provinces for Obsiido Direct, an online platform that allows investors to purchase private market funds.
The moves come as more fund managers look to market alternative investments, traditionally reserved for institutional investors and family offices, to retail investors after last year’s broad declines in stocks and bonds.