MutualFundWire.com: Voyageur Renames its Money Market Funds, Makes an Institutional Push

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Monday, February 9, 2009

Voyageur Renames its Money Market Funds, Makes an Institutional Push

Voyageur Asset Management renamed its money market funds and launched two institutionally-priced share classes of its three funds.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada, Minneapolis-based Voyageur is the investment adviser to the Tamarack Funds. On January 28, Voyageur dropped the the Tamarack name from its money market funds and added the RBC name to each share class. The change does not affect Voyageur's four equity funds (two others are in the process of being acquired by Hennessy Advisors) and two fixed income funds.

"We're leveraging the strength of our parent's name which we hadn't done in the past," Voyageur spokesman Steve Riesterer told The MFWire.

The three retail funds -- Prime, U.S. Government and Tax-Free -- have been around for 17 years. Assets in the funds totaled $16 billion as of end-December.

Voyageur launched the two institutional share classes in November. Asked about the timing of the push into the institutional space, Janet Quarberg, managing director of RBC's U.S. money market funds, told The MFWire: "Our money market funds have performed very well. They didn't have exposure to SIVs, CDOs and problematic debt such as AIG, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, and Washington Mutual."

"Our performance and assets have been very strong," Quarberg said. She added that there's increased demand in the market for money market funds from strong financial institutions.

In December, Voyageur inked a deal with Hennessy Advisors under which the latter will purchase two equity funds, Tamarack Large Cap Growth Fund and the Tamarack Value Fund (see The MFWire, 12/09/08).

Voyageur executives said at the time that the deal, expected to close in March, would allow Voyageur to focus on money market funds, socially responsible investing, and small- and micro-cap funds.

Company Press Release

MINNEAPOLIS, February 09, 2009 — Voyageur Asset Management is moving into the institutional money market space with the creation of two new institutionally-priced share classes of its Prime, U.S. Government and Tax-Free money market funds.

"We are well-positioned to grow in the institutional money market fund space,” said Erik Preus, the Funds' president. “We’re already gaining some nice traction with investors and there seems to be a real need for strong cash management from healthy financial institutions like RBC."

"We have always maintained a philosophy of preservation of principal first, liquidity second, and yield third, and with those guiding principles we’ve consistently produced a competitive rate of return," added Preus. "Our philosophy has helped us avoid the landmines that have impacted the industry over the past several months, and now we're seeing the markets and investors truly recognize the value of our approach."

Voyageur currently manages over $20 billion in cash assets in mutual funds, local government investment pools, and public fund mandates, giving the firm the scale necessary to compete in the institutional marketplace. Its cash team consists of seven investment professionals with an average of 17 years of experience.

Formerly named the Tamarack Money Market funds, Voyageur recently dropped the Tamarack name from its money market funds and added RBC to the name of each share class. Voyageur is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.

About Voyageur Asset Management Inc. The views expressed herein reflect Voyageur Asset Management Inc. as of 2/4/09. Views are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. This information should not be construed as a recommendation for any specific security. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Voyageur Asset Management Inc. serves as investment adviser to RBC’s U.S. money market funds, which are distributed by Tamarack Distributors Inc. Member FINRA.

Founded in 1983, Voyageur is a Minneapolis-based investment advisor with $33 billion in equity, fixed income and money market assets. The firm employs a “multi-boutique manager” approach to investment management with offices in Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis. Voyageur is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBC Financial Group, a broadly diversified global financial services company, and serves as the principal U.S.-based institutional investment manager drawing upon RBC for incremental financial strength, infrastructure and resources. With 25 years in the investment management business, Voyageur’s team-based approach includes experienced portfolio managers and talented analysts who focus on disciplined investment processes, style consistency, and seek strong risk-adjusted performance. For more information, please visit www.voyageur.net.

Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, please visit our website.

Mutual fund investing involves risk, including loss of principal. An investment in the Money Market Funds is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. Although the Funds seek to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Funds. These risks are more fully described in the prospectus.

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