Short Takes: Boston Partners Offers Fund Through Fidelity

Institutional money manager Boston Partners Asset Management has made its first mutual fund available through Fidelity.

The Boston-based firm, which requires a $5 million minimum investment for account management, announced this week that Boston Partners' Large Cap Value Fund will be offered through Fidelity FundsNetwork and Institutional FundsNetwork. The mutual fund has a $2,500 minimum investment.

Boston Partners, which has $8.7 billion under management from more than 100 institutional accounts, was founded by a group of portfolio managers who defected from Boston Company Asset Management after it was acquired by Mellon Bank Corp.

The money manager is moving further into the retail marketplace and is close to completing a deal to make its funds available to Charles Schwab & Co. customers, according to William J. Kelly, chief financial officer. He added that Boston Partners is in talks with broker-dealers for additional distribution and that banks are "high on that list as well."

On June 1, Boston Partners plans to open a mid-cap value mutual fund, which is in registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Even today, we're primarily viewed as an institutional money manager," Mr. Kelly said. "But early on, we created a strategic plan to have our high-quality products distributed through as many channels as possible."

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