In Brief: Oppenheimer to Triple Bank Loan Holdings

Oppenheimer Funds Inc. said it plans to triple its bank loan portfolio over the next three or four months. The New York-based fund company, which has $100 million invested in leveraged loans, hopes to increase that investment to $300 million or more, said Arthur Zimmer, an Oppenheimer senior vice president and portfolio manager. Oppenheimer Funds has roughly $4.5 billion invested in high-yield bonds through about 10 of its funds. Mr. Zimmer said high-yield bank loans are "a very appropriate asset class for those funds." "The high-yield bank loan market and the high-yield bond market are converging," he said. "And what you see is a one-stop shopping mentality."