Van Kampen Sells Off Separate Account Business

November 19, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Oak Brook, Illinois-based Van Kampen Management has sold a unit that specializes in managing fixed-income investments for pension funds, insurers and wealthy individuals to a group of employees, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
McDonnell Investment Management LLC, also based in Oak Brook, opened for business Nov. 1 with Dennis McDonnell, formerly president of Van Kampen’s investment advisory business, as chairman, and Edward A. Treichel as president and CEO.   Treichel was executive director and director of Van Kampen’s institutional asset management unit.

All the employees of Van Kampen’s separate account fixed-income team moved over to McDonnell Investments, along with 180 of the 190 mainly institutional clients, according to the report.   The group oversees a $6 billion portfolio.

The client base is nationwide, with a large portion of its assets coming from union retirement plans.

The split was amicable, according to a spokeswoman for Van Kampen Management, who noted that the separate account business was not consistent with the firm’s core business – equity and fixed-income mutual funds, unit investment trusts and equity separate accounts.  

The transaction has reportedly been in the works for a number of months.

 

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