Paul Voûte from Impax AM is our Sales Manager of the Month

Paul is Head of Distribution for Europe & Asia-Pacific. He oversees Impax Asset Management’s distribution efforts in several key markets, taking a leading role in managing business development, consultant relations, and RFPs. He has worked in this function since joining the firm in 2022.

Before joining Impax, Paul held a similar role at Federated Hermes and, before its takeover, Hermes Investment Management. With a career starting in 1997, Paul has worked in distribution and business development throughout his career in asset management with spells at GE Asset Management, Neuberger Berman, and GE Asset Management.

Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from ESC Bordeaux and ISER Rotterdam. He is fluent in English, French, and Dutch.

What made you decide to go into the financial sector? Did you have any other vocations?

During my studies, I completed a 6-month internship in London working with traders on the open outcry markets of the LIFFE exchange which gave me the bug and pushed me into a career in financial markets.

Could you tell me the most difficult aspects of your job and also the most positive ones?

The most positive aspect of the job is that you get an opportunity to work with a wide range of interesting people. The challenge in financial markets is marrying long-term business plans with the short-term up and downs of financial markets.

In your opinion, what are the key drivers for successful fund distribution?

Fund distribution is increasingly a scale business so the barriers to entry keep moving higher and higher. Consolidation in the base client is also on the rise. Given this backdrop, I believe that to be successful distribution teams need to be very focused and aim to build long-term partnership relationships with clients.

What is the most exciting thing you have seen in the markets since you started working in the financial sector?

Working in financial markets is never dull. I started my career a month before the Asian financial crisis of 1997, I was in equity capital markets during the dotcom bubble and also worked for Lehman Brothers asset management division when the firm collapsed so it’s always been exciting time. The nice thing is that today markets are more and more focused on sustainability matters.

What investment products do you believe would be more interesting in the next 5 years?

Investment solutions that allocate capital to winners in the new end growing end markets for environmental and social products/solutions.

What is your favorite thing to do when you disconnect from the markets?

Given the job requires traveling and long work weeks I most enjoy spending my time off with family and friends