Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:Ouch, Virtus: Even Subadvised Fundsters Can Get Burned By Stars Not Rated 0.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Ouch, Virtus: Even Subadvised Fundsters Can Get Burned By Stars

News summary by MFWire's editors

Yesterday a publicly-traded mutual fund shop felt the burn of a star PM departure ... from a different company.

Rajiv Jain
Vontobel Asset Management
Co Chief Executive Officer
Chris Dieterich of Barron's points out that Virtus Investment Partners' [profile] shares fell 13 percent yesterday to $84.42, their lowest level since August 2012. (The Nasdaq fell 1.2 percent yesterday, and the Dow fell 0.63 percent.) Virtus' pain follows the departure of a key PM from a subadvisor to four of Virtus' mutual funds.

On Monday Swiss multinational Vontobel revealed that at the end of May Rajiv Jain will step down as chief investment officer of the growth equity boutique within Vontobel's New York-based Vontobel Asset Management subsidiary "to realize [his] own entrepreneurial plans." Jain will hand the reins over to Matthew Benkendorf, who has worked alongside Jain for 17 years.

Here's where Virtus comes in. Four Virtus mutual funds with nearly $11.3 billion in combined AUM are subadvised by Vontobel Asset Management and PMed by Jain. That amounts to nearly 24 percent of Virtus' $47.4 billion in AUM (as of December 31).

All four funds in question have four-star ratings from Morningstar, and the three biggest have silver ratings, too. Those four Virtus funds are: the $9.3-billion Virtus Emerging Market Opportunities Fund, which debuted in 1997 and which Jain has PMed since 2006; the $1.8-billion Virtus Foreign Opportunities Fund, which launched in 1990 and which Jain has PMed since 2002; the $159.2-million Virtus Global Opportunities Fund, which launched in 1960 and which Jain and Benkendorf have PMed since 2009; and the $28.6-million Virtus Greater European Opportunities Fund, which launched in 2009 and which Jain and colleague Daniel Kranson have PMed since 2013. Benkendorf actually PMed the Greater European Opportunities fund when it launched in 2009 until the beginning of 2015.

Bloomberg and Reuters both point out that Vontobel's shares have taken a big hit after the news. Financial News also highlighted Jain's departure.

"It will never be possible to clearly determine just how much Vontobel's asset-management performance came from the team and how much came from Jain himself," Michael Kunz, an analyst with Zuercher Kantonalbank, tells Reuters. "But put simply, Rajiv Jain was the face of Vontobel asset management in New York."

Axel Schwarzer, head of the Vontobel Asset Management unit, praises Jain as "the bedrock for the firm's success over the past 22 years," while also talking up the firm's "strong succession planning."

"Matthew [Benkendorf] is a proven Portfolio Manager and respected leader of our firm," Schwarzer states.

"Matthew deeply endorses the Quality Growth Investment style and knows our portfolios intimately," Jain states. "He is ideally placed to step up now to head the Quality Growth boutique." 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

0.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2025: Q1
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


  1. MMI webinar - Enhancing the Advisor Experience, January 16
  2. MFDF webinar - AI and Fund Compliance, January 21
  3. MFDF In Focus - In Focus: Small Boards' Use of Skills Matrices, January 22
  4. IDC webinar - SEC Enforcement Trends: What Fund Directors Should Know, January 23
  5. ICI webinar - Legal and Compliance Career Opportunities in the Asset Management Industry, January 24
  6. FSI OneVoice 2025, Jan 27-29
  7. MFDF 2025 Directors' Institute, Jan 27-29
  8. Nicsa webinar - An Intro to Irish and Luxembourg Investment Platforms for US Asset Managers, January 29
  9. WE South - Dallas | Texas Stock Exchange, Politics, & Product Development, January 30
  10. 2025 ICI Innovate, Feb 3-5
  11. Nicsa webinar - AI In Operations: Boosting Productivity for Wealth & Asset Management Firms, February 5
  12. MFDF In Focus: Understanding Distribution - What the Data Can Tell You, February 6
  13. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 10
  14. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 11
  15. MMI Darden-in-Residence II, Feb 24-6
  16. 2025 MMI RIA Forum, February 27
  17. IDC Core Responsibilities of Fund Directors, February 27
  18. Citywire Scottsdale CIO Summit 2025, Feb 27-28
  19. Expect Miracles In Manhattan 2025, February 27
  20. T3 Technology Conference 2025, Mar 3-6
  21. IMEA Distribution Intelligence Summit, Mar 4-5
  22. Nicsa 2025 Strategic Leadership Forum, Mar 5-7
  23. Citywire Pro Buyer New York Due Diligence Retreat 2025, Mar 6-7
  24. MFDF 2025 Fund Governance & Regulatory Insights Conference, Mar 6-7
  25. MFDF 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 3 - Gartenberg Factors Analysis and Challenges, March 12
  26. ICI Investment Management Conference, Mar 16-19




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2025
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use