By Wells Fargo WFC 1.35% & Co. has struck a deal to buy Analytic Investors LLC, as it looks to beef up its quantitative-based investment offerings with its asset-management business. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. The deal, expected to close by October, would add about $15 billion in assets under management to Wells Fargo’s asset-management unit, which had roughly $481 billion of assets under management as of June 30. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is the largest U.S. bank by market value. Analytic will continue to be based in Los Angeles. The firm was founded in 1970 and manages about $12.9 billion for institutional, mutual-fund and separate-account clients. Wells Fargo said the deal will pair Wells’s research-based capabilities with Analytic’s “innovative quantitative investment team.” In the mid-2000s, Analytic notably brought attention to a risky investment strategy borrowed from the highflying world of hedge funds, the so-called 130/30 strategy, as a group of its money managers detailed in a paper how allowing managers to short a percentage of stocks allowed for a significant boost in gains. Wells Fargo’s shares, down 10% this year, edged down 8 cents to $48.83 in after-hours trading. Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Wells Fargo Asset Management has agreed to buy Analytic Investors, a quant-based asset manager. The deal, which is expected to close by October, will add about $15bn in assets under management to the roughly $481bn currently managed by the firm.