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Asteria Investment Managers (Asteria), the recently launched impact investing firm controlled by REYL & Cie Ltd (REYL), is to enter into a strategic tie-up with Swiss impact private asset manager Obviam AG (Obviam), in a partnership that will bring together complementary skills to create a unique and prominent player within the impact investing ecosystem.

This transaction fits perfectly with Asteria’s core strategic plan devised upon its creation in 2019. Obviam‘s recognised private equity expertise offers strong complementarity with Asteria’s liquid markets and private debt focus. Moreover, Obviam’s long-standing quality track record with public Development Finance Institutions such as SIFEM from the Swiss Confederation can resonate and attract new funding through Asteria’s private institutional network. 

The new entity, to be named Asteria Obviam, will reinforce its positioning as a player fully dedicated to intentional impact investing, focused on favouring environmental and social progress across the full spectrum of impact strategies. The company will also generate cross-benefits from its consolidated distribution network and state-of-the-art technology platform using Big Data and Machine Learning. This transaction will give rise to a unique impact asset management group with over CHF 1 billion AUM, a 20-year track-record and more than 50 investment professionals.
    
In addition to sharing the same strategic objective to reconcile positive impact and market performance delivered through a robust and well-tested investment process, Asteria and Obviam benefit from perfectly aligned corporate cultures and values, stemming from their Swiss anchoring and international investment scope. In order to ensure talent retention and incentivisation, the senior management teams of Asteria and Obviam, led by Katia Coudray as CEO, will become significant shareholders in the new entity. The Obviam office and team, led by Obviam founder Claude Barras and located in Bern, will be maintained without disruption.  

Importantly, the new operation will benefit from the continued support and commitment of REYL, which recently announced a strategic partnership with Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, one of Europe’s leading banking groups, allowing for expanded distribution capabilities and accelerated growth.