On Monday, Bank of America completed the sale of Columbia Management's long-term asset management business to Ameriprise Financial. The company has also rebranded its money funds as the BofA Funds and rebranded its money fund manager as BofA Global Capital Management. A statement sent to Crane Data says, "As previously announced, Bank of America has retained Columbia Management's cash business on the strength of its investment professionals, the quality of its product offering and the depth of its client relationships. The cash business is now called BofA Global Capital Management. The money market fund family is now called BofA Funds."
The statement says, "As of March 31, 2010 the BofA Global Capital Management business had more than $114 billion in assets under management and approximately 150 professionals, including 25 experienced portfolio managers, credit analysts and traders. This business serves both retail and institutional investors through taxable and tax-exempt money market funds; multi-currency offshore funds and customized separate account strategies.... BofA Global Capital Management resides within Bank of America's Global Wealth & Investment Management division [and] continues to be headquartered in Boston."
A letter from new BofA Global Capital Management President Michael Pelzar says, "Today is an important day for us, as it marks the launch of BofA Global Capital Management. While our name is new, you are likely already familiar with our experienced cash professionals and our high-quality investment solutions from your relationship with Columbia Management."
Pelzar continues, "Over the past year, we at BofA Global Capital Management have been working diligently to build on the already considerable strengths of Columbia Management's cash business. We have enhanced our management team; we are making substantial investments in technology to help us better manage risk; and we have refined our product set, which includes taxable and tax-exempt money market funds, offshore funds, customized separate accounts and subadvisory services. These enhancements, combined with our strong emphasis on client service and satisfaction, will help us deliver three important objectives: preserving our clients' principal; ensuring their assets are readily accessible; and delivering solid performance. In short, we are geared toward meeting your liquidity needs with a business dedicated exclusively to short-term investment strategies."
Finally, he says, "The global financial crisis has reconfigured the investment landscape, particularly with respect to short-term investing. Supported by the full resources of Bank of America, BofA Global Capital Management is well positioned to help investors navigate the challenges presented by these changes. I speak for all of my teammates in saying that I am extremely excited by the opportunity to leverage our expertise, our technology and our diverse mix of liquidity solutions on behalf of those of you who have chosen to invest with BofA Global Capital Management. We very much look forward to working with you and to meeting your needs for liquidity-oriented asset management solutions."
Look for more details in coming weeks and a more in-depth discussion in the June issue of Money Fund Intelligence
