Seeyond Hires Alex Piré as Head of Client Portfolio Management

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seeyond, an investment unit of Natixis Asset Management, and an affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management operated in the U.S. through Natixis Asset Management U.S., LLC, has announced the appointment of Alex G. Piré, CFA to Vice President and Head of Client Portfolio Management. Mr. Piré joins Seeyond from Jennison Associates where he served as Vice President and Acting Head of Product Development and Management.

Mr. Piré will be responsible for leading both intermediary and institutional client service and driving the growth of the Seeyond strategies in North America. Natixis Global Asset Management recently launched its first ETF in the U.S., the Natixis Seeyond Minimum Volatility ETF (NYSE Arca: MVIN). Seeyond is subadvisor to the fund. The fund is an actively managed minimum volatility international equity investment strategy, which seeks to reduce risk through an investment process that selects stocks based on historical volatility and correlations, rather than purely on investment fundamentals. The investment strategy differentiates itself by actively monitoring and rebalancing the portfolio to help maximize diversification and minimize the volatility associated with international equities.

Mr. Piré will reach across the distribution organization to bring the ETF and Seeyond’s full range of solutions to investors looking for low volatility and factor-based exposure to the market. He will be based in Boston and report to Frederic Babu, Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Asset Management U.S. and Chief Investment Officer for Seeyond in the U.S.

“Alex’s background in portfolio construction, coupled with his success and ability to integrate client needs with innovation, will be an incredible resource to investors who are looking to align their volatility management with potential market events,” said Mr. Babu. “We are pleased to have him in this role as we continue to support advisors and institutional clients with investment solutions that answer the current needs of their portfolios.”

While at Jennison Associates, Mr. Piré led product development and had oversight of Jennison’s actively managed fundamental and quantitative equity strategies. He also worked with clients on portfolio structure and helped to inform asset allocation decisions. Prior to that role, he was Director of Product Management at Fidelity Investments where he focused his attention on developing Fidelity’s ETF product strategy and represented the firm as ETF product expert with intermediary and institutional clients. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Risks:
ETFs trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk, and will fluctuate in market value. Unlike mutual funds, ETF shares are bought and sold at market price, which may be higher or lower than the ETF's net asset value. Transactions in shares of ETFs will result in brokerage commissions, which will reduce returns.
Active ETF unlike typical exchange-traded funds, the Fund does not attempt to track or replicate an index. Thus, the ability of the Fund to achieve its objectives will depend on the effectiveness of the portfolio manager.
Equity securities are volatile and can decline significantly in response to broad market and economic conditions.
Foreign securities may involve heightened risk due to currency fluctuations. Additionally, they may be subject to greater political, economic, environmental, credit, and information risks. Foreign securities may be subject to higher volatility than U.S. securities, due to varying degrees of regulation and limited liquidity.
Currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may cause the value of the fund’s investments to decline.

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation with less volatility than typically experiences by international equity markets.

The Advisor has agreed to limit the amount of the total annual fund operating expenses to 0.55% (exclusive of brokerage expenses, interest expense, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, etc.) in effect through April 30, 2018.

Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Visit ngam.natixis.com for a prospectus or a summary prospectus containing this and other information. Read it carefully.

ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor for the Natixis Seeyond International Minimum Volatility ETF. NGAM Distribution, L.P. is a marketing agent. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is not affiliated with NGAM Distribution, L.P.

About Natixis Global Asset Management
Natixis Global Asset Management serves thoughtful investment professionals worldwide with more insightful ways to invest. Through our Durable Portfolio Construction^® approach, we focus on risk to help them construct more strategic portfolios that seek to endure today’s unpredictable markets. We draw from deep investor and industry insights and partner closely with our clients to put objective data behind the discussion.

Natixis Global Asset Management is ranked among the world’s largest asset management firms.¹ Uniting over 20 specialized investment managers globally ($895.6 billion AUM²), we bring a diverse range of solutions to every strategic opportunity. From insight to action, Natixis Global Asset Management helps our clients better serve their own with more durable portfolios.

Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. is part of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A.’s affiliated investment management firms and distribution and service groups include Active Index Advisors^®;³ AEW Capital Management; AEW Europe; AlphaSimplex Group; Axeltis; Darius Capital Partners; DNCA Investments;⁴ Dorval Asset Management;⁵ Emerise;⁶ Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management;⁵ Harris Associates; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Managed Portfolio Advisors^®;³ McDonnell Investment Management; Mirova;⁷ Natixis Asset Management; Ossiam; Seeyond;⁷ Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; Vega Investment Managers; and Natixis Global Asset Management Private Equity, which includes Seventure Partners, Naxicap Partners, Alliance Entreprendre, Euro Private Equity, Caspian Private Equity and Eagle Asia Partners. Visit ngam.natixis.com for more information. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions.

¹ Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2016 ranked Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. as the 16^th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management ($870.3 billion) as of December 31, 2015.
² Net asset value as of March 31, 2017. Assets under management (AUM) may include assets for which non-regulatory AUM services are provided. Non-regulatory AUM includes assets which do not fall within the SEC’s definition of ‘regulatory AUM’ in Form ADV, Part 1.
³ A division of NGAM Advisors, L.P.
⁴ A brand of DNCA Finance.
⁵ A subsidiary of Natixis Asset Management.
⁶ A brand of Natixis Asset Management and Natixis Asset Management Asia Limited, based in Singapore and Paris.
⁷ Operated in the U.S. through Natixis Asset Management U.S., LLC.

About Natixis Asset Management U.S., LLC and Seeyond

Natixis AM U.S. provides access to investment solutions that benefit from the extensive resources of a leading European asset management group. Natixis AM U.S. launched in 2014, is a U.S.-based investment adviser, majority-owned by Natixis Asset Management with $423 million in assets under management (as of 12/31/16) and utilizes the expertise of Seeyond, a global investment unit of the Natixis Asset Management organization.

Seeyond^SM is dedicated to non-traditional investment strategies that specialize in extracting value from risk. Seeyond is known for its active quant investing and global asset allocation expertise. It manages $15.5 billion in assets, as of December 31, 2016.

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