Conseco Adds Two New Sub-Advisors

Conseco Fund Group, the fund unit of insurance giant Conseco of Carmel, Ind., has added two sub-advisors to manage its small cap growth fund and its yet-to-be-released large cap value fund.

The fund firm appointed Boston Partners Asset Management sub-advisor to the large cap value fund and Harris Investment Management of Chicago sub-advisor of the small cap growth fund, said Bruce Johnston, Conseco Fund’s chief marketing officer.

Last December, Conseco began outsourcing the management of most of its eight actively managed funds to Chicago Equity Partners and Oak Associates, both of Chicago. Conseco made the switch following the highly publicized departure of Thomas Pence, Conseco’s former chief investment officer and three of its portfolio managers. Pence and the other managers left the firm to work with Strong Funds of Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Conseco Capital Management, the advisor to the Conseco Fund Group, oversees the management of the firm’s fixed-income funds. The firm holds approximately $1.2 billion in assets in all eight funds, said Johnston.

Conseco has also sought outside help with the selection and monitoring of its sub-advisors and has retained Callan Associates, an investment consulting firm based in San Francisco, Johnston said. The firm will be responsible for monitoring and selecting new managers to sub-advise one of the eight actively managed funds that Conseco offers. The consultant will issue quarterly reports to Conseco’s board of trustees covering performance and an overview of the management, the company said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING