Ontario Teachers’ partners with Edelweiss Group to

Ontario Teachers’ partners with Edelweiss Group to invest USD 350 million (˜INR 2600 crores) in Indian private credit

·        Long term partnership in Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors (EAAA), market leaders in Alternatives

·        Focused on performing and distressed opportunities in the Indian credit investment space

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”), Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, and Edelweiss Group, India’s leading diversified financial services conglomerate, are pleased to  announce that Ontario Teachers’ has signed an agreement for an investment of USD 350 million (˜INR 2600 crores) with  Edelweiss Alternate Asset Advisors’ (“EAAA”), the largest private debt manager in India with assets under management of approximately USD 3 billion (˜INR 23,400 crores). The agreement represents a long-term partnership between Ontario Teachers’ and Edelweiss Group that will focus on performing and distressed private credit investment opportunities in the Indian market.
 

Despite the global economic uncertainty amidst the current pandemic, this commitment from Ontario Teachers’ is a strong endorsement of the Indian alternative asset management space as well as the robust and unique private debt platform built by EAAA.  

Speaking about the development, Rashesh Shah, Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group said, “This partnership comes at a time when there is a thrust towards empowering and enabling India to become a global manufacturing hub as vocalised by the Government’s ‘Atmanirbhar – self reliance’ vision. The need for long term patient capital in India presents a huge opportunity for private debt managers. At Edelweiss, we have built deep capabilities in this space and I am honoured by the trust placed in us by the highly respected Ontario Teachers’ team.”

 Confirming the partnership, Gillian Brown, Senior Managing Director, Capital Markets at Ontario Teachers’ said, “We are pleased to enter into a long-term partnership with Edelweiss Group, which has a proven track record and demonstrated ability to originate, underwrite, structure and realize on private credit investments in India. This partnership will further expand our presence in, and provide additional insights on, the important Indian market.” 

Ben Chan, Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Ontario Teachers’ noted, “We are excited to invest with Edelweiss to bolster our exposure to the Indian credit market.  This is an important milestone in our ambition to build multi asset class exposure to India’s long-term growth story.  As a global investor, Ontario Teachers’ hopes to leverage our select list of partners including Edelweiss for local insights and acumen as we navigate to grow profitably in this important market.”

 Venkat Ramaswamy, Vice Chairman & Executive Director, Edelweiss Group added, “We are humbled by the faith that an institution such as Ontario Teachers’ has placed in our ability to manage credit investments and in our strong governance, especially at a time when overall global economic sentiment is subdued. We believe, the opportunity for Alternative Investment funds in India is large, given the need for credit, and we are confident that this partnership will enable Ontario Teachers’ to capitalize on the best of private debt opportunities available in India.

PAG Partners with Edelweiss Group, makes

PAG Partners with Edelweiss Group, makes ~ INR 2200 crores investment in Edelweiss Wealth Management

·         Edelweiss Wealth Management is one of the largest wealth management businesses in India

·         Partnership unlocks value for shareholders and paves way for future growth

PAG, one of the world’s largest Asia-focused investment groups, and Edelweiss Group, India’s leading diversified financial services conglomerate, today announced PAG’s strategic investment of approximately USD 300 million (~ INR 2200 crores) for a 51% stake in Edelweiss Wealth Management (EWM), the second largest non-bank wealth management business in India. This partnership will result in unlocking value for shareholders and accelerating business growth, powered by PAG’s capital, business expertise and global experience. The investment will close after customary regulatory approvals.

PAG is a leading investor in the region’s fast-growing economies and is especially keen on the Indian market, where it expects to invest USD 1 billion in the next two to three years.

PAG will become a majority owner of the Edelweiss Wealth Management platform (EWM) of Edelweiss Global Investment Advisors (which also houses Edelweiss Asset Management, India’s largest alternatives and asset reconstruction platform, which is not part of the investment). The Wealth Management business, including capital markets, provides wealth management services to over 2,400 of India’s wealthiest families as well as ~610,000 high net-worth individuals and other affluent clients. EWM has grown its customer assets under advice with a ~44% cumulative annualized growth rate from INR 185 billion in fiscal year 2015 to INR 1.27 trillion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, consistently outpacing the market and making rapid strides in industry rankings.

The INR 300 trillion Indian wealth management industry has been expanding rapidly at a five-year cumulative annualized growth rate of 11.3 %. With a strong growth trajectory of 12.5 % per year, it is expected to reach INR 540 trillion in the next five years, presenting a significantly large opportunity for Edelweiss Wealth Management.

Speaking on the partnership, Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group said, “In PAG we have found a great partner with global experience and strong capabilities. This investment endorses our core strategy of incubating businesses, building value and growing them into market leaders as they gradually move from inter-dependence to independence. We remain committed to unlocking value for businesses and shareholders alike and remain future-ready to ride the economic trajectory post Covid.”

Weijian Shan, Chairman and CEO, PAG said, “PAG is committed to India's market as we strongly believe in the long-term growth of the Indian economy. The investment in Edelweiss Wealth marks a milestone in PAG’s investments in the India market.”

Added Nikhil Srivastava, Managing Director and Head of India Private Equity, PAG: “We are excited to partner with Edelweiss Wealth Management as we are impressed with the company's depth of knowledge and experience, and strong management team. We are eager to leverage PAG's global experience investing in and working alongside financial services companies to support Edelweiss Wealth achieve the next level of client centric growth.”

Nitin Jain, CEO, Edelweiss Wealth Management Business said, “Building strong capabilities and scale has enabled us to enjoy market dominance in our wealth franchise. The big transformation for EWM is going to be the use of assistive technology that will help serve our clients reliably, responsibly and cost effectively. With a significant growth runway visible I look forward to PAG helping us in this exciting journey.”

PAG’s investment in EWM is part of Edelweiss Group’s stated strategy to build independently capitalised and self-sufficient businesses. Staying true to its ‘do what is best for the business’ principle, the Group has onboarded global partners with impeccable credentials and domain expertise that are strategically best suited to take each of the identified businesses to the next trajectory of growth and scale. This has been demonstrated in the partnerships the Group has forged over the years in the Credit, Life Insurance, Asset Reconstruction and Alternative Asset businesses among others.

Venkat Ramaswamy, Executive Vice Chairman Edelweiss Group concluded by saying, “The well- established diversified financial services platform of the Group has been consistently attracting investments from some of the largest global institutional investors and each has brought their expertise, interest and commitment to grow in the Indian market.”

Edelweiss Group Releases its

Edelweiss Group Releases its FY 2020 Sustainability Report

·         One of India’s first non-banks to publish a Sustainability Report

·         Sustainability Report Aligned to 9 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are globally accepted

·         Sustainability initiatives driven by a Council of Senior Leaders for ESG, led by a Board Director

·         Enhanced disclosures in FY20 through benchmarking against 50+ GRI standards

Edelweiss Group, one of India’s leading diversified financial services conglomerates, published its annual Sustainability Report today, reaffirming its commitment to a sustainable future. In its third edition, the report encapsulates the Group's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives, providing an overview of its exigent Covid-19 efforts and sustainability disclosures, benchmarked against 50+ Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. Edelweiss has voluntarily adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework since 2018 and aligned its ESG efforts to 9 of the 17 SDGs. 

The Sustainability Report 2020 is available here. 

Edelweiss has a robust diversified platform spanning  Credit, Wealth & Asset Management, Asset Reconstruction and Insurance with sustainability practices adopted across all business functions. Addressing the needs of diverse stakeholders including employees and customers,  the Group is leveraging technology to further strengthen its operating structures, systems and processes to deliver on its sustainability commitment. As part of its efforts to institutionalize this process, an ESG Council has been appointed, comprising Senior Leaders, with Board level oversight, to meet the outlined goals.

Launching the Sustainability Report, Vidya Shah, Chairperson of the ESG Council at Edelweiss Group & CEO, EdelGive Foundation, said, “We are firm believers in doing business the ESG way. Sustainability principles are embedded in our business operations and we strive to have a positive impact on the communities we operate in. While the current report is an entirely organic effort put together by our ESG leaders and teams, these benchmarks reflect our resoluteness of purpose and our ambition to measure our progress, year on year. We seek  to get our Sustainability Report assured by an independent external advisor in the next few years, as we remain steadfast in our ESG journey.” she added.

Large Indian conglomerates and banks have adopted global sustainability reporting practices and nearly 72% of the NIFTY constituents have issued standalone sustainability reports. Beyond Nifty 50 companies, very few companies report on sustainability based on internationally accepted frameworks like GRI. Globally, asset managers and investors are increasingly looking at ESG as an important investment parameter. In India, asset managers have launched funds that target their investments towards companies that are compliant with ESG adoption. Edelweiss’s Asset Management entity (EAAA), India's largest player in Private Debt (AUM of Rs. 217 billion as of FY20) has voluntarily adopted the ESG policy, anchored to Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) and UN Global Compact's 10 principles.

Edelweiss Decodes Sustainability for

Edelweiss Decodes Sustainability for MSMEs as part of International MSME Day

~Eminent Panellists share views on how to leverage emerging opportunities in the New Normal~

·         Context for panel discussion stemmed from a detailed customer study conducted by Edelweiss with over 2000 MSMEs across India

·         Business disruption was significant during the month of April, with improvement in activity and sentiments visible over the last few weeks

·         Optimism and resilience are high among majority of MSMEs, though challenges related to receivables and supply chain continue to impact many of them

Edelweiss SME Lending celebrated its third consecutive edition of International MSME Day through a virtual webinar comprising a panel of industry experts. The theme of the panel discussion was ‘MSMEs: New Heroes in the New Normal!’

Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group said, “The last 4-5 years have been truly transformative for MSMEs, with the introduction of GST, the India stack and formalisation of the sector and economy. COVID-19 has impacted the MSMEs but it could also potentially be a trend accelerator for the business. The pandemic is opening up fresh opportunities for businesses to script better stories of success. The current economic condition is an opportunity to recalibrate, retest and most importantly repivot. We need to view the current context and the India story with a bi-focal lens, one that balances these short-term challenges, with the long-term opportunity.”

The current situation has posed several challenges to the spirit of entrepreneurship. Survival of business in the long-run and getting payments from clients, remain the top two concerns for SMEs and retail businesses. The webinar sought to acknowledge the contribution of MSMEs in light of current challenges, while leveraging this as a platform to share insights and expertise on what to expect in the near future and thrive, in the new normal that awaits us.  

Panellists included Mr. Mehernosh Tata (Head, Edelweiss SME Lending), Mr. Sunil Srivastava (Ex Dy MD, State Bank of India; Sr. Advisor Edelweiss & World Bank), Mr. Navin Chandani (MD & CEO, CRIF High Mark), Mr. Shailendra Kawade (Promoter & Chairman, Mylab Discovery Solutions) and Mr. Vikas Dimri (Director, SME Head – Trade & Working Capital, Deutsche Bank).

In his closing remarks, Deepak Mittal, CEO Credit, Edelweiss Group, said, “MSMEs are realising that business models will need tweaking, be it in delivery or servicing, in demand aggregation or in digitizing payments. Reinvention and reimagination, have now changed in their definition. MSMEs should seize this opportunity to reconnect with their customers and rethink their proposition. This is a time to be nimble and MSMEs can be far quicker, to leverage emerging opportunities vis-à-vis larger enterprises.”

Key insights from the panel discussion are as follows -

·         While uncertainty is high, fundamentals of business remain the same. Indian businesses are resilient by design. The inherent capability to find ways to survive & thrive shall never be underestimated

·         Flexibility, agility and increased adaptability to evolving customer needs, will be key to future sustainability

·         Social distancing will continue, but customer engagement and reach must deepen as we move from a product-centric to customer-centric economy

·         Digital transformation is underway. For a lender, it speeds up decision making and improves quality of credit decisions. For MSMEs, they can access quicker credit when needed. Banks will now have the ability to make better credit decisions

·         Digitization, Alternate Data and increased focus of Financial Fitness, will be key to profitability when considering future business models