Administration February 11, 2002

Fleet Builds Up Asset Management Business

November 14, 2001(PLANSPONSOR.com) - Following the close of its $1 billion acquisition of the asset management business of Liberty Financial Cos Inc, Fleet Asset Management will take on a new name and combine some of its overlapping funds in a bid to revamp its asset management business.
Reported by

Asset management is a key source of fee revenue for the group, with that division bringing in revenues of $279 million, or about 3% of parent FleetBoston’s total, between January and September this year.

With the Liberty acquisition, which boosted the group?s assets under management by 36% to some $170 billion in assets under management, Fleet Asset now places 29 th , up from 42 nd , in the ranks of money managers, according to the company.

Fleet Asset’s units include Galaxy, and Columbia Management, which Fleet bought in 1997 for $400 million. Through its ownership of Liberty, Fleet also now owns Stein Roe & Farnham and Wanger Asset Management.

And while an announcement on a new name is yet to be made, the new moniker likely will not include the name Fleet, according to a Reuters report.

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