Deals & People March 3, 2009

Former Callan Exec Fills Institutional Services Post at Prudential

Prudential Financial Inc. has named Clifford Axelson, a former senior vice president for Callan Associates, a managing director for its Strategic Solutions Group.
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The Strategic Solutions Group focuses on Prudential’s largest institutional clients and consultants. In part, the group helps institutions analyze pension and post-employment liabilities in the context of corporate risk management and delivers customized solutions to de-risk balance sheets, according to a press release. Prudential says that adding Axelson will allow the group to reach a broader range of key clients.

While at Callan, Axelson managed Callan Associates’ New Jersey office. Previously, he was a vice president at Dahab Associates, Inc., and also was a portfolio analyst in the capital markets group of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. He has a degree in economics from Allegheny College and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is also a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the CFA Institute.

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In February, Callan Associates announced an agreement to be acquired by Mercer (see Mercer Acquires Callan in Investment Consulting Consolidation). The resulting approximately 1,270-employee organization will represent one of the largest players in the investment consulting niche. The firms said no layoffs were planned as part of the deal.

Products March 3, 2009

Hartford MidCap Fund Reopens to Institutional Investors

The Hartford's Institutional Solutions Group has reopened The Hartford MidCap Fund (Class Y Shares) to institutional investors.
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The Hartford MidCap Fund (HMDYX) seeks to outperform the S&P MidCap 400 Index by investing in high-quality, established mid-cap companies with good balance sheets, strong management teams, and market leadership in their industry, the company said in an announcement.

Portfolio Manager Phil Perelmuter, who has managed The Hartford MidCap Fund since its inception in 1997, believes the fund is well positioned to accept new assets. “There are a lot of attractively priced mid-cap companies,” Perelmuter said. “Opening the fund to new investors will help allow us to take advantage of these opportunities.’

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The fund, sub-advised by Wellington Management Company, LLP has outpaced its benchmark (the S&P MidCap 400 Index) in nine of the last 11 calendar years, and has also outperformed its Lipper peer group (Lipper MidCap Core) in nine of the last 11 calendar years, the company noted.

 

 

 

More information can be found at http://institutional.thehartford.com.

 

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