Banc of America Investment Advisors is selling its Liberty All-Star closed-end fund management business to ALPS Advisers. The business includes two funds with $1.35 billion in assets. Both of the funds are listed on the NYSE. The funds are the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund ($1.2 billion) and Liberty All-Star Growth Fund ($150 million).

Investors in the funds should see little change because of the sale as BAIA's management team will be sent to ALPS along with the funds. The agreements with the funds' subadvisor have also been renegotiated with ALPS and have substantially the same terms as the prior subadvisor agreements, according to BAIA officials. That should ensure the smooth transition of the funds.

The Bank did not provide a reason for a sale in its news release. However, the two funds are not large enough in size to have a significant impact on the bank's bottom line. It has also been reorganizing and streamlining the lineup of mutual funds it picked up through its purchase of FleetBoston.

ALPS Advisors, which is a subsidiary of Denver-based ALPS Holdings, will become the funds' investment advisor by year-end 2006. ALPS Holdings is a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm focused on investments in the financial services industry  

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