Federated Hermes
A publicly listed global investment manager providing liquidity, fixed-income, equity, multi-asset, alternative and responsible-investment strategies.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Federated Hermes is a publicly traded investment-management company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm traces its origins to 1955, when high-school classmates John F. Donahue, Richard B. Fisher and Thomas J. Donnelly established Federated Investors. It was incorporated in 1957 and developed from a U.S. mutual-fund business into a diversified asset manager serving institutional and intermediary clients as well as individual investors. The company’s investment capabilities span liquidity management, fixed income, equities, multi-asset portfolios, alternative investments and private markets. Its vehicles and account structures include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separate accounts, closed-end funds and collective investment funds. Clients identified in company and reference materials include corporations, government bodies, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, banks and broker-dealers. Federated’s liquidity and money-market expertise has been an important part of its identity, while its broader range of investment strategies has expanded through acquisitions and international development. Federated’s ownership history includes a majority investment by Aetna in 1982. Federated management bought back Aetna’s majority interest in 1989 and acquired the remaining Aetna-held shares in 1996. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1998. It also built an international distribution and investment platform, including a Dublin subsidiary established in 1991 and a later German distribution venture with LVM-Versicherungen Münster. A major strategic shift came through the acquisition of interests in specialist businesses. In 2012, Federated acquired Prime Rate Capital Management LLP, a London-based provider of institutional liquidity and fixed-income products. In 2018, it completed the purchase of a 60 percent interest in Hermes Fund Managers Limited from the BT Pension Scheme. Hermes brought a distinctive responsible-investment, engagement and stewardship capability, as well as additional institutional and alternative-investment expertise. Federated also announced the purchase of approximately $4.4 billion in assets from Fifth Third Asset Management in 2019. In February 2020, Federated Investors adopted the name Federated Hermes, Inc. and changed its NYSE ticker from FII to FHI. The rebrand was intended to present the combined organization as an investment manager with a stronger commitment to responsible investing alongside financial performance. Federated Hermes remains an independent, publicly listed asset manager rather than a retail bank or a consumer-facing financial-services brand. Its positioning combines the scale and distribution of a U.S. fund manager with Hermes’s institutional stewardship and environmental, social and governance investment heritage.
History
Federated Hermes began in 1955, when John F. Donahue, Richard B. Fisher and Thomas J. Donnelly founded Federated Investors. The enterprise was incorporated on October 18, 1957. Its early development centered on investment funds and liquidity-management capabilities, helping it establish a position in the U.S. asset-management market. The company’s ownership changed substantially in the 1980s and 1990s. Aetna acquired a majority interest in Federated in 1982, at a time when the business had nearly $30 billion in assets under management. Federated management later repurchased Aetna’s stake for $345 million in 1989. In 1996, management acquired the remaining 25 percent interest still held by Aetna for $100 million, restoring full management control before the company’s public-market debut. Federated completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on May 14, 1998. Federated developed an international platform alongside its U.S. operations. In 1991 it established Federated International Management Limited in Dublin, Ireland. The subsidiary helped make Federated the first U.S. company whose registered money-market funds were approved for distribution to the European community, according to the reference account. In 1998, the firm created a venture with German insurer LVM-Versicherungen Münster to distribute Federated funds in Germany. The company continued to broaden its institutional and international capabilities through acquisitions. In April 2012, it acquired Prime Rate Capital Management LLP, a London provider of institutional liquidity and fixed-income products, from Matrix Group Limited. The acquired business operated AAA-rated liquidity funds known as Qualifying Money Market Funds and served corporate and institutional clients. Federated’s most consequential strategic combination involved Hermes. In July 2018, Federated completed the acquisition of a 60 percent interest in Hermes Fund Managers Limited from the BT Pension Scheme. Hermes, which operated as Hermes Investment Management, was known for integrated environmental, social and governance investing, active ownership and engagement with companies. Hermes had also recently acquired MEPC plc. The transaction gave Federated a stronger institutional and responsible-investment platform while allowing Hermes capabilities to be incorporated into a larger global asset-management group. In September 2019, Federated announced that it had bought approximately $4.4 billion in assets from Fifth Third Asset Management. The transaction represented another expansion of the firm’s client and asset base. In February 2020, Federated Investors changed its corporate name to Federated Hermes, Inc. and adopted a new identity emphasizing responsible investment as a route to financial performance. The company also changed its NYSE ticker from FII to FHI, with FHI trading beginning on February 3, 2020. Today, Federated Hermes presents itself as a global investment manager offering equity, fixed income, liquidity, multi-asset, alternative and private-market strategies. Its distribution includes mutual funds, ETFs, separate accounts, closed-end funds and collective investment funds. The combination of Federated’s fund-management and liquidity heritage with Hermes’s stewardship and institutional-investment expertise is central to the modern brand.
- 2020
Federated Hermes identity introduced
[1]Federated Investors becomes Federated Hermes, Inc., and the NYSE ticker changes from FII to FHI.
- 2018
Hermes investment completed
[1]Federated completes the acquisition of a 60 percent interest in Hermes Fund Managers Limited.
- 2012
Prime Rate Capital Management acquisition
[1]Federated acquires the London-based institutional liquidity and fixed-income specialist Prime Rate Capital Management LLP.
- 1998
Initial public offering
[1]Federated completes its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on May 14, 1998.
- 1996
Remaining Aetna-held shares acquired
[1]Federated management purchases Aetna’s remaining 25 percent stock interest for $100 million.
- 1991
Dublin international subsidiary established
[1]Federated establishes Federated International Management Limited in Dublin to support European distribution of registered money-market funds.
- 1989
Management repurchases Aetna’s majority interest
[1]Federated management buys back Aetna’s majority stake for $345 million.
- 1982
Aetna takes a majority stake
[1]Aetna acquires majority ownership of Federated Investors.
- 1957
Corporate incorporation
[1]Federated is incorporated on October 18, 1957.
- 1955
Federated Investors is founded
[1]John F. Donahue, Richard B. Fisher and Thomas J. Donnelly establish the investment-management business that later becomes Federated Hermes.
Products and positioning
A diversified global asset manager combining Federated’s liquidity, mutual-fund and investment-management platform with Hermes’s institutional, responsible-investment and engagement capabilities.
Liquidity management
Liquidity and money-market strategies
Federated Hermes has longstanding expertise in liquidity management and money-market investing. Its offerings serve retail, corporate and institutional investors through money-market funds and related liquidity vehicles. The platform also includes institutional products associated with the former Prime Rate Capital Management business, including qualifying money-market funds designed for corporate and institutional use.
Fixed income
Fixed-income strategies
The firm manages fixed-income portfolios across institutional and intermediary channels. The range includes bond funds, institutional mandates and other strategies intended to provide income, duration management or broader participation in debt markets. Fixed income is one of the capabilities strengthened by Federated’s expansion in London and its acquisition of Prime Rate Capital Management.
Equities
Equity strategies
Federated Hermes offers equity investment strategies for mutual-fund, institutional and separate-account investors. These strategies can be delivered through pooled vehicles or customized mandates and form part of the firm’s broader global investment platform. Hermes added further institutional and responsible-investment expertise to the group’s equity capabilities.
Sustainable and responsible investment · 2018
Responsible-investment strategies
Responsible investment is a defining element of the Federated Hermes identity following the integration of Hermes Investment Management. The offering combines investment analysis with stewardship, company engagement and consideration of environmental, social and governance factors. The firm positions these activities as tools for long-term value creation rather than as a separate activity disconnected from financial performance.
Multi-asset and alternatives
Multi-asset and alternative investments
The company’s capabilities extend beyond traditional equities and bonds to multi-asset portfolios, alternative investments and private markets. These strategies are intended primarily for institutional, intermediary and sophisticated investors and may be offered through funds, collective vehicles or separate accounts, depending on the mandate.
Brand decisions
2020
Corporate rebrand to Federated HermesStrategyBackground
Following the Hermes transaction, the company sought to communicate a combined identity centered on responsible investment and financial performance.
Action taken
Federated Investors changed its corporate name to Federated Hermes, Inc., introduced an updated identity and changed its NYSE ticker from FII to FHI.
Aftermath
The Federated Hermes name became the group’s principal public brand, with trading under FHI beginning on February 3, 2020.
2019
Purchase assets from Fifth Third Asset ManagementM&ABackground
Federated pursued additional scale and client assets in its investment-management business.
Action taken
Federated announced the purchase of approximately $4.4 billion in assets from Fifth Third Asset Management.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded the assets and client relationships served by Federated’s platform.
Assets acquired. $4.4 billion acquired (2019)
2018
Acquire a majority interest in Hermes Fund ManagersM&ABackground
Federated aimed to strengthen its institutional investment, stewardship and responsible-investment capabilities.
Action taken
Federated completed the purchase of a 60 percent interest in Hermes Fund Managers Limited from the BT Pension Scheme.
Aftermath
Hermes became the foundation for the group’s expanded responsible-investment and engagement proposition.
2012
Acquire Prime Rate Capital ManagementM&ABackground
Federated sought to expand its institutional liquidity and fixed-income capabilities in the United Kingdom and continental Europe.
Action taken
The company acquired Prime Rate Capital Management LLP from Matrix Group Limited and incorporated its liquidity-fund platform into Federated’s international business.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened Federated’s institutional product range and European presence.
Recent events
Federated Hermes announces MDT Market Neutral Fund launch[3]
Reported:
Federated Hermes announced the launch of the Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral Fund, which seeks long-term capital appreciation while limiting exposure to general stock market risk.
Federated files plans for two actively managed bond ETFs[4]
Reported:
Federated Hermes filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission for two actively managed fixed-income strategies: a short-term corporate bond strategy and a short-term high-yield bond strategy. The funds had not yet been approved or launched in the report.
- Unconfirmed
SEGRO acquires Perivale Park[5]
Reported:
SEGRO acquired Perivale Park, a 34-acre urban warehouse estate in West London, from Federated Hermes for £202.5 million.
Federated completes acquisition of PNC Capital Advisors assets[6]
Reported:
Federated Investors announced its acquisition of certain components of PNC Capital Advisors' investment management business. The transaction included the reorganization of 18 PNC mutual funds into 16 Federated funds, the transition of a five-person portfolio management team, and part of the separate-account businesses.
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