Wells Capital to Trim Strong Funds, Managers

Wells Capital Management announced plans this week to preserve the majority of senior portfolio managers and mutual funds at its newly acquired Strong Capital Management subsidiary but some niche sector investments may soon disappear, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports

Morningstar estimates that 33 of Strong’s 150 mutual funds will soon be merged out of existence or liquidated after Wells concludes its reorganization. Strong’s marquee fund managers, like Richard Weiss, I. Charles Rinaldi, Thomas Pence, Jay Mueller and Thomas Ognar, are expected to survive the cuts.

Strong was put on the block in December after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged the company with improper trading and later extracted a $175 settlement from a civil lawsuit. In the aftermath, Richard Strong, founder, was barred from the securities industry.

Since acquiring Strong’s $32 billion of assets and 911 employees, Wells has said it plans to rename the company and is still in the process of considering possible monikers.

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