OppenheimerFunds Inc. says the London office opened recently by its OFI Institutional Asset Management division strengthens its focus on establishing a wider global presence.
The decision to expand internationally was made in April 2002, Diederik Werdmolder, managing director of the international division at OFI Institutional Asset Management, said through a spokesman. "We are looking to establish a more global presence," he said Thursday, "and the European market is especially attractive."
All of Oppenheimer's products, including equity and fixed-income investments, are to be made available to European clients.
OppenheimerFunds sees a lot of growth potential in the United Kingdom, Mr. Werdmolder said, and this made it logical to open an office to help distribute its products there. The fund company, which is majority-owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., saw significant interest from the United Kingdom in its global equity; U.S. value; and high-grade, fixed-income portfolio options, he said.
"The London office is up and running, but we don't have any sales goals in place yet," he said through Gregory Stitt, the spokesman.
The new office is a division of Tremont Capital Management Ltd., which is a London-based subsidiary for alternative investments and research of OFI Institutional Asset Management.
The institutional asset manager said Wednesday that it had hired Adrian Gordon from Barclays Global Investors to be the director of European distribution and head of the London office. Mr. Gordon is to be responsible for expanding Oppenheimer's reach in Europe and will initially do face-to-face meetings with potential clients, said Mr. Stitt. Mr. Gordon was traveling and unavailable for an interview.
Mr. Gordon was the head of the strategic account team at Barclays, where he focused on business development and client service for European institutions.
"I look forward to building a business development and client service organization that can bring these assets to clients across Europe," he was quoted in a press release as saying. The parent company opened a Hong Kong office in January, and Oppenheimer views the London office as a significant second step in its expansion plans, according to Mr. Werdmolder.
OppenheimerFunds (Asia) Ltd. primarily serves the retail mutual fund market on that continent.
The London office is to focus first on specialist mandates for institutional investors and subadvisory services, the company said. The new office also is to promote 11 Dublin-registered funds that are offered to non-U.S. investors by OppenheimerFunds PLC. These portfolios will not, however, be offered through U.S. bank channels, Mr. Stitt said.
John V. Murphy, the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of OFI Institutional, said in the press release, "Our strong investment capabilities and the efforts of our U.S.-based international client service team have been rewarded with an increasing number of inquiries and accounts from institutional investors in Europe."
"The establishment of a local presence is a natural next step in our long-term strategy to be a significant player in the European market and global asset management firm," he added.
Oppenheimer is always looking to expand its business, said Mr. Werdmolder, but is not currently considering the opening of more offices abroad. "We will continue to do further market research for opportunities," he said.
At June 30, OppenheimerFunds had $155 billion of assets under management.
