Pioneer on the Offensive

September 24, 2003, 1:00 a.m. EDT 1 Min Read

For the second time in less than a week, Pioneer Investment Management announced plans to expand its offerings. The Boston-based money manager said on Tuesday that it has reached a preliminary agreement with Oak Ridge Investments in which Pioneer will become the investment manager for two mutual funds managed by Oak Ridge.

Pioneer would retain Oak Ridge as its subadvisor according to the agreement, and David M. Klaskin would stay as the portfolio manager. The Oak Ridge Large Cap Equity Fund and the Oak Ridge Small Cap Equity Fund have about $24 million in assets under management.

"The Oak Ridge funds would be a great complement to our product offerings and our distribution strategy because of the synergies inherent in selling separate accounts and mutual funds through broker dealer markets," said Steve Graziano, executive vice president of strategic marketing at Pioneer.

Oak Ridge manages $1.2 billion in assets for institutions and high net worth individuals through separate account wrap programs distributed through the broker dealer community.

Last week, Pioneer announced plans to bring four mutual funds, with about $140 million in assets, run by Papp Mutual Funds under its oversight. Roy Papp, the founder of the firm, will remain as manager for the portfolios.