LOS ANGELES -- AEGON USA/Transamerica became the latest insurance company to move non-general account investment management into a separate company, largely driven by the need to create an employee-ownership structure.
The new company, Transamerica Investment Management LLC, Los Angeles, manages $11.9 billion from its parent company for institutional and retail clients.
The unit was structured to provide portfolio managers and other senior staff with a 20% ownership stake in profit interests. AEGON will own the rest, said Richard Latzer, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Transamerica Investment Management.
The sale of Transamerica to Aegon two years ago enabled the company to move to an employee ownership structure, he said.
The investment management team for Transamerica Investment Management came from Transamerica Investment Services Inc., also of Los Angeles, which managed all of the $40 billion in AEGON's general account assets. The balance of $28 billion of internal assets, which did not move with the management team, was given to other internal investment units, AEGON Investment Management and AEGON Realty, Mr. Latzer said.
Gary Rolle is president and chief investment officer of the new firm. Other managers are Bill Miller, senior vice president and chief operating officer; Christina Stiver, vice president, marketing; Jeff Van Harte, senior vice president and head of equities; Chris Bonavico, vice president; fixed-income managers Heidi Hu and Matthew Kuhns, both vice presidents; and Thomas Ray, vice president, who manages convertible bonds.
The new unit is focused on providing external clients with traditional core investment styles -- domestic growth and value equity, investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds, balanced accounts and cash management.
