High Mark Capital Management is taking the Bailard Opportunity Funds under its wing. The board of trustees of the HighMark Funds and the board of directors of the Bailard Opportunity Fund Group have approved an agreement that will send the Bailard funds to three newly-established series of HighMark Funds, the firms said in a joint statement.

Under the deal, San Francisco-based HighMark Capital Management will serve as investment advisor and Bailard will become sub-advisor to the funds, with the present fund management lineup at Bailard continuing to manage the portfolios.

The planned move would free up Bailard’s resources to focus on managing investments and developing investment products, said Peter Hill, chief investment officer at Foster City-based Bailard.

As for HighMark Capital Management, the deal would expand the range of investment options for shareholders and enhance HighMark’s distribution opportunities in the market, according to Earle Malm, president and chief executive of HighMark Capital Management, a subsidiary of Union Bank of California.

HighMark Funds encompasses 18 funds with over $7 billion in assets.

Pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close on March 31.

A spokesman for HighMark did not immediately return a call seeking further details. 

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