Julius Baer Investment Management LLC, the New York-based money manager subsidiary of Julius Baer Holding AG, has filed with the SEC to add four mutual funds -- the Julius Baer U.S. Microcap Fund, the , the Julius Baer U.S. Midcap Fund, and the Julius Baer U.S. Multicap Fund -- the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The move is a response to increasingly stringent European regulations, said the Journal. Senior fund analyst Greg Wolper of Morningstar Inc. told the Journal that Julius Baer is “trying to expand its lineup of mutual funds to be more like what you might call a normal fund shop in the U.S.”

The new fund offerings appear to be part of a larger expansion. Last year Julius Baer Holdings bought fund-of-fund manager GAM as part of a $4.56 billion deal, making it the largest independent private bank in Switzerland. The Zurich-based bank currently manages $20.9 billion in assets in the U.S., in five different mutual funds.

According to the company’s prospectus filed Wednesday with the SEC, the four funds each seek to achieve long term growth of capital. The Microcap, Smallcap, and Midcap funds will each invest at least 80 percent of their net assets in microcap companies, smallcap companies, and madcap companies, respectively.

The Multicap Fund will “not be constrained by a particular investment style,” its prospectus says. Each fund will offer two classes of shares, Class A shares and Class I shares. Net operating expenses for the shares will be: 1.50 percent and 1.25 percent for the Microcap Fund’s Class A & I shares, respectively; 1.20 percent and 0.95 percent for the Smallcap Fund’s A & I shares; 1.05 percent and 0.80 percent for the Midcap Fund’s A & I shares; and 1.00 percent and 0.75 percent for the Multicap Fund’s A & I shares.

Senior portfolio manager Samuel A. Dedio, new to Julius Baer from Deutsche Asset Management, will manage the Julius Baer Microcap, Smallcap, and Midcap funds. Dedio will co-manage the Julius Baer Multicap Fund alongside first vice president Brett Gallagher. Gallagher has served as co-manager of the Julius Baer Global Equity Fund since 2004.  

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