Boutique Fund Managers See Growth in Down Economy

Strategic Insight (SI), an Asset International company, looked at active fund managers (among those that started 2009 with $1 billion or more in assets) that saw large growth in terms of 2009 net inflows as a percentage of total assets at the start of 2009 (organic growth), and found 15 firms that had organic growth of 50% or more in 2009.

The top five included Van Eck (119% organic growth), Manning & Napier Advisors (91%), Matthews Asian Funds (83%), Robert W Baird & Co (72%), and Hussman Econometrics (68%).

“The large number of smaller fund firms on this list attest to the strength of boutiques, whose focus and strong sense of conviction for their strategies/philosophies often prove attractive to investors in times of uncertainty,” said Avi Nachmany, director of research at Strategic Insight, in a press release.

Completing the list of the top 15 are:

• Saturna Capital (67%)
• Credit Suisse (66%)
• Bessemer Trust (65%)
• Lazard Asset Management (65%)
• Sentinel Asset Management (63%)
• Westchester Capital (61%)
• TCW Management (57%)
• Northern Trust (54%)
• Kornitzer Capital Management (51%)
• JPMorgan Funds (51%).

SI also noted the most popular actively managed mutual funds of 2009 displayed a wide range of investment styles. PIMCO Commodity Real Return topped the list of domestic equity funds with 6.7 billion in inflows; PIMCO Total Return led taxable bond funds with $49.7 billion; Ivy Asset Strategy saw the biggest inflows of international equity funds ($6.5 billion); and Wells Fargo Advisors Ultra Short Muni topped the list of tax-free bond funds with $6 billion in inflows.