Pengana eyes stake in Lizard Investors
Pengana Capital Group has announced it is looking to acquire a significant stake in Lizard Investors, a global small to mid-cap equity manager.
The two firms already had a joint venture in 2015 that had the Chicago-based manager advise the Pengana Global Small Companies Fund
Commenting, Pengana founder, Russel Pillemer said: “This is a great opportunity for Pengana to expand into the US market not only via the growth of Lizard’s global small cap capabilities but also by utilising Lizard as a platform to launch additional offerings, similar to what Pengana has done in the Australian market.
“Our growth plans are based on the organisational and cultural alignment between Pengana and Lizard, the strength and experience of the Lizard team, and the increasing investor demand for global small caps.”
Lizard founder and chair, Leah Zell, said the acquisition would provide Lizard additional resources and management capabilities.
“Global Small Caps is a highly sought-after asset class, with very few fund managers having substantial experience and long-term track records,” she said.
“In the current late stage of the economic cycle that has seen extraordinary growth from large cap stocks, investors are now looking to make structural changes to their portfolios, and global small caps should be a great beneficiary of this. Lizard, with its strong, decade-long track record is particularly well placed to benefit from this environment.”
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