Federated Hermes to acquire C.W. Henderson

Federated Hermes has agreed to acquire substantially all the assets of C.W. Henderson and Associates, a Chicago-based registered investment adviser specializing in tax-exempt municipal securities.

C.W. Henderson is the adviser to approximately $3.63 billion in direct account, dual-contract separately managed accounts and sub-advised separately managed account portfolios. The firm also manages two municipal bond products — one intermediate-term and the other short-term — that focus on high credit quality with limited interest-rate risk.

"Combining the proven investment acumen of C.W. Henderson's team and their active investment process with Federated Hermes' extensive distribution capabilities will give our company a new opportunity to grow our $23 billion SMA business," said J. Christopher Donahue, president and CEO of Federated Hermes.

The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in the third quarter.

Federated Hermes, a Pittsburgh-based asset management company with $631.1 billion in assets under management, traditionally has focused on the money market space, but last year it launched two actively managed fixed-income exchange-traded funds.

Federated Hermes said the C.W. Henderson team will continue to manage its portfolios.