Fahnestock Viner Holdings has put more chips on the table. The Toronto-based broker-dealer has made a minority investment in New York City-based Overture Asset Managers. Neither firm released the size of the investment. The deal also brings Fahnestock Chairman Albert G. Lowenthal onto Overture's board of advisors.

"Our investment in Overture signifies our continued commitment to increase our presence and capabilities in asset management and to partner our valuable distribution network with Overture's products and services," said Lowenthal in a statement.

Overture is seeking to buy boutique investment managers. It will provide those firms with a centralized platform for sales and marketing, product development, finance, operations and technology solutions. In its first deal it purchased Avatar Associates (now OAM Avatar), the manager of approximately $1.5 billion of assets.

Douglas L. DuMond, Overture's president and CEO, said the firm would use the funding to continue to add management and sales expertise to Overture, which can leverage its Avatar acquisition and others it makes in the future.

This is the second time this year that Fahnestock & Co. opened its wallet for an investment manager. In January, it bought the U.S. Oppenheimer Private Client and Asset Management Divisions of CIBC World Markets. That deal closed yesterday (June 5).

Last week, Overture also hired Bruce E. Kiley as its chief financial officer. Kiley departs his planning firm -- Chimney Cove Advisors -- to take the appointment. Before founding Chimney Cove, he was managing director and then partner in the Financial Advisory Services unit of PwC. He began his professional career with GE in New York and The Netherlands and was a strategy consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton before rejoining GE Capital Corporation.

"What attracted me to Overture, and led me to put aside my current entrepreneurial role at Chimney Cove Advisors, was the firm's clear focus on growth strategies in today's volatile money markets and its unique approach to acquisitions," said Kiley.  

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