Wells Fargo AM acquires stake in alternatives boutique

Wells Fargo Asset Management has acquired a minority stake in alternatives firm The Rock Creek Group.

The US firm has taken a 35% stake in the Washington-based fund of hedge funds specialist which currently has over $7 billion in assets under management.

Rock Creek was established in 2002 by Afsaneh Beschloss, its current CEO, who was formerly the Treasurer and CIO of the World Bank.

In her previous role she was responsible for managing $65 billion in assets and a $30 billion funding strategy, as well as $160 billion in derivatives and structured products and was instrumental in developing the World Bank’s portfolio of alternative investments and private equity investments.

The alternatives boutique designs and implements customized fund of hedge funds and emerging market portfolios through top-down asset allocation and manager selection, leveraging Rock Creek’s proprietary analytics platform Rock Creek Solutions.

Commenting on the deal Michael Niedermeyer, CEO of Wells Fargo Asset Management, said: 'Our clients have expressed their desire for increased alternative investment solutions, and this partnership allows us to meet those needs.'