ESG Shop Trillium Sold to Australia-Based Firm

The Boston-based firm has $3.8 billion in assets under advisement.

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Trillium Asset Management, which specializes in environmental, social and governance focused investing, has been bought by Perpetual Limited of Australia, which plans to help it expand its investor base in the U.S. and also in non-U.S. markets. 

Trillium, based in Boston, has $3.8 billion in assets under advisement. It won the Envestnet/Investment Advisor Asset Management Award in the impact category in 2019

“We found the right partner in Perpetual with their 18-year history in ESG investing and century-long commitment to community engagement and philanthropy,” according to Trillium CEO Matthew Patsky.

“The additional resources bring global scale to our business, enhance distribution capabilities and support our objective of delivering market-competitive strategies that align with the values, impact goals and investment objectives of clients,” Patsky explained. 

Trillium will keep its brand, management team and advisory board. It has about 50 employees and opened its doors in 1982. 

“The interest in ESG has accelerated globally in recent times due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as extreme climate events, all contributing to the positive momentum of true, integrated ESG investing fast becoming mainstream,” said Perpetual Managing Director and CEO Rob Adams, in a statement.

Perpetual works with about $15 billion in assets worldwide. The financial services firm does management, advisory work and trustee services.