U.S. Bancorp Fund Mastermind To Take ABN Investments Helm

The executive who helped build U.S. Bancorp's mutual fund business is joining ABN Amro Bank NA to run its U.S. asset management operation.

Timothy J. Leach will start as president and chief executive officer of ABN Amro Asset Management (U.S.A.) Inc., on Feb. 9. He is responsible for helping Dutch banking giant ABN Amro Bank NV invigorate its U.S. asset management business.

"The appointment of Tim Leach is the next important step in achieving the important goal of establishing ABN Amro Asset Management as a global investment manager in the United States," John A. Wing, chairman of ABN Amro Asset Management, said in a statement.

Mr. Wing, who is also president and chief executive officer of the asset management business, located in Chicago, will relinquish those titles to Mr. Leach.

ABN Amro Bank NV has made no secret of its desire to build an asset management business here. It has unsuccessfully courted many U.S. money managers that have been on the block in recent years.

ABN Amro Asset Management handles retail mutual funds, pension plans, and investments for high-net-worth clients, a spokeswoman said. She declined to disclose the unit's assets.

Industry watchers said Mr. Leach faces the challenge of helping the proprietary mutual funds reach their sales potential. ABN Amro Bank NV owns Chicago's LaSalle National Corp., which manages the $2.4 billion Rembrandt Funds.

The funds have been seen as lagging their competition, said Kenneth Kehrer, a consultant in Princeton, N.J.

"Bringing in this new talent might be one way to ramp that up," Mr. Kehrer said.

Mr. Leach was not available to comment on his new job. Previously he was president and chief investment officer of Qualivest Capital Management Inc., a unit of U.S. Bancorp in Portland, Ore.

During his four years with Qualivest, assets under management grew from $4.5 billion to $11.5 billion. He also helped create and manage the Qualivest mutual funds family.

In August, U.S. Bancorp merged with First Bank System, and Mr. Leach left Qualivest to work in marketing for the bank.

Before U.S. Bancorp, Mr. Leach worked at Wells Fargo & Co. and BankAmerica Corp.

ABN Amro Bank NV, Netherlands, has worldwide assets of about $400 billion, including $114 billion in North America. Globally, it manages more than $85 billion in assets.

In addition to LaSalle, other U.S. holdings include European American Bank, New York; Standard Federal Bancorp, Troy, Mich.; and Chicago Corp., a brokerage firm.

At ABN Amro Asset Management, Charles R. Klimlowski, executive vice president and director of investments, and Richard A. Frodsham, executive vice president and director of marketing, will continue in their posts.

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