Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc.

Type	Public company
Traded as	NasdaqGS: VRTS
Industry	Asset Management
Founded	November 1, 1995
Headquarters	Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Key people	George R. Aylward, President and CEO Mark A. Treanor, Chairman of the Board
Products	Virtus mutual funds; closed-end funds; separately managed accounts; institutional investment management services
AUM	$54.8 billion (March 31, 2015)
Website	www.virtus.com

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. operates a multi-manager asset management business, comprising a number of individual affiliated managers, each having its own investment process and brand, and the services of unaffiliated subadvisers.

History

Virtus Investment Partners, formerly known as Phoenix Investment Partners, Ltd., was formed on November 1, 1995 through a reverse merger with Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., at the time the investment management affiliate of Duff & Phelps Corporation.

1995 - 2006

From 1995 to 2001, Virtus was a majority-owned indirect subsidiary of Phoenix Life Insurance Co. During this period, the company purchased a majority interest in several boutique investment management companies to establish its multi-manager business model. In addition to Duff & Phelps Investment Management, Virtus’ affiliated managers include Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC, Newfleet Asset Management (formerly SCM Advisors, LLC, and previously Seneca Capital Management), and Zweig Advisers LLC, which was founded by legendary Wall Street investor Martin Zweig.

On January 11, 2001, a subsidiary of Phoenix acquired the outstanding shares of Phoenix Investment Partners not already owned, and the company became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix.

In May 2005, Phoenix Investment Partners acquired the remaining minority interest in SCM Advisors and in September of that year acquired the remaining minority interest in Kayne Anderson Rudnick, thereby increasing ownership of both companies to 100%. In May 2006, Phoenix Investment Partners acquired the rights to advise, distribute and administer the Insight Funds from Harris Investment Management, Inc.

2006 - 2009

In February 2008, Phoenix announced it would spin-off Phoenix Investment Partners as an independent asset management company through a pro-rata dividend of Phoenix Investment Partners common stock to Phoenix's shareholders.^[1] On October 30, 2008, Harris Bankcorp Inc., a US subsidiary of Bank of Montreal announced it would acquire $45 million in convertible preferred stock, representing a 23 percent equity position in Virtus.^[2]

Virtus became an independent publicly traded company on December 31, 2008 upon completion of its spin-off from Phoenix. The first day of trading of VRTS was January 2, 2009, and company officials rang the opening bell at NASDAQ Market Site on January 5, 2009.^[3]

Business Overview

Retail products (available to individual investors) include open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds and separately managed accounts. The Virtus Mutual Funds family consists of approximately 45 open-end mutual funds that are distributed primarily through intermediaries, including national and regional broker-dealers, independent broker-dealers and independent financial advisory firms. Virtus' five closed-end funds, which are provided by two affiliated managers, encompass utility and tactical asset allocation strategies. The closed-end funds trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Retail separately managed accounts comprise intermediary programs, sponsored and distributed by unaffiliated brokerage firms, and private client accounts, which are offered to the high-net-worth clients of the affiliated managers.

Virtus also manages institutional accounts for corporations, multi-employer retirement funds, foundations, endowments, and special purpose funds.^[4]

Principal Subsidiaries

Virtus operates a multi-manager asset management business, comprising a number of individual affiliated managers, each having its own distinct investment style, autonomous investment process and brand, and the services of unaffiliated subadvisers. Affiliated managers include:^[5]

Cliffwater Investments LLC, located in Los Angeles and NYC, provides alternative advisory services to institutional investors including endowments, foundations, retirement systems and financial institutions. In 2015, it reportedly advised clients with $800 million to exit the Carlyle Group's Claren Road hedge fund.^[6]
Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., headquartered in Chicago, manages open- and closed-end funds and institutional separate accounts investing in global utilities, infrastructure and REITs. Institutional services are offered to corporations, municipalities, retirement and benefit plans, endowments, foundations and others.
Euclid Advisors LLC is a New York-based investment management affiliate of Virtus Investment Partners that manages both domestic and international equity portfolios.
Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC of Los Angeles offers a variety of actively managed equity and fixed-income strategies to individuals through open end mutual funds and separately managed accounts primarily to high-net-worth individuals. Institutional clients include endowments, foundations, corporations, public funds, and pension plans.
Kleinwort Benson Investors International, Ltd. is an investment affiliate of Kleinwort Benson Investors (KBI), an established institutional asset manager headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. KBI International has been managing assets for institutional investors since 1980.
Newfleet Asset Management is a full-service, multi-capability fixed income firm that manages open-end funds, institutional accounts, structured products, and high-net-worth/private client assets. It manages assets in three distinctive strategies: Multi-Sector Fixed Income; Core Plus Fixed Income; and Specialty Fixed Income.
Rampart Investment Management, a Boston-based investment management affiliate of Virtus Investment Partners, manages client positions and portfolios using domestic and international index and equity options.
Zweig Advisers LLC is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York that manages open- and closed-end funds in fundamental, small cap value, and tactical asset allocation investment styles. Its tactical asset allocation investment style, which seeks to participate in rising markets and limit losses during major declines, was modeled after the approach of Dr. Martin Zweig, author of Winning on Wall Street and a regular panelist on Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street.

Unaffiliated Subadvisers

Virtus supplements the investment capabilities of its affiliated managers through select unaffiliated subadvisers whose strategies are not available to retail mutual fund customers. These subadvisers include:^[5]

Aberdeen Asset Management, Inc., is the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, a global investment management group formed in 1983 and headquartered in Scotland, U.K. With investment teams based in the markets or regions in which they invest, the firm manages assets for both institutions and private individuals from offices around the globe.
Horizon Asset Management LLC, a subsidiary of Horizon Kinetics LLC, is an independently owned and operated investment boutique formed by the 2011 merger of Horizon Asset Management, Inc. (founded in 1994) and Kinetics Asset Management, Inc. (founded in 1996) and its affiliates.
Sasco Capital, Inc., of Fairfield, CT, which specializes in contrarian/value equity investing using a disciplined approach that includes extensive fundamental analysis of business segments.
Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc., is an investment management firm based in Miami, Florida, specializing in closed-end fund research, analysis, and investment since 1984.
Vontobel Asset Management, Inc. of New York, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vontobel Holding AG of Switzerland that specializes in managing long-only global equity portfolios.

References

↑ "Phoenix Announces Intention to Spin Off Phoenix Investment Partners", phx.corporate-ir.net, Feb. 7, 2008
↑ "Harris Bankcorp to Take Minority Equity Position In Virtus Investment Partners", bnet.com, Oct. 30, 2008.
↑ "Virtus Gains in Debut Amid Acquisition Speculation", Hartford Courant via pqasb.pqarchiver.com, Jan. 3, 2009.
↑ Virtus Investment Partners, facebook.com.
1 2 "About Us", virtus.com.
↑ Chung, Juliet, "Clients of Carlyle Hedge Fund Seek to Pull Out Nearly $2 Billion", Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-17.

External links

Financial Advisors, company webpage.

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