The name change comes as part of a global re-brand, following the acquisition of First State Investments in August 2019 by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
First State Investments will move to First Sentier Investors across all global markets, with a final transition date scheduled for 22 September 2020. The business already operates as First Sentier Investors in Australia, where it was formerly known as Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
Since the acquisition by MUTB, First State Investments has operated as a standalone business, managing more than US$145 billion on behalf of an international client base that extends across Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America. It offers a comprehensive suite of active investment capabilities across global and regional equities, cash and fixed income, infrastructure, and multi-asset solutions, all with a shared purpose to deliver sustainable investment success.
There will be no change to the business’s investment teams or investment process as a result of the rebrand programme. First State Investments is the home of investment teams Stewart Investors, FSSA Investment Managers and Realindex and these teams will continue to operate under their current brand names.
“The name change reflects our desire to be a unified global business. The name First Sentier Investors reflects our heritage and ongoing purpose. ‘First’ references our strong and successful heritage as First State Investments, while the word ‘Sentier’ means path – which reflects our commitment to creating our own way forward, thinking about the future and investing responsibly over the long term for the benefit of our clients and the communities in which we invest.”
Mark Steinberg, CEO at First Sentier Investors