Kansas City, Missouri-based UMB Bank is putting the emphasis on its mutual fund third party business. First, the bank acquired SunStone Financial of Milwaukee last year. Next, it created a new unit, the UMB Investment Services Group, which consolidates the products of Sun Stone and the custody and cash management business of the bank. Finally, it hired Vince Ciavardini, formerly a president and coo at PFPC, to run the unit as president and ceo.

"We are bringing our services together under one umbrella. We are on a go forward basis. We will be branding all of our mutual fund services under UMB Investment Services Group. We will be increasing product and services offerings. We will also be looking at operations beyond mutual funds," Paula Carabell, vice president of business development at UMB, told the MutualFundWire.com.

"We will be introducing the new brand, tying it all together, at the ICI Conference in Washington in May. While other services companies are conserving, we are are moving forward. We see this as a growth area. We are investing resources. There is a lot of opportunity here," the executive contended. "We are planning to make our move into the mid- and large fund company arena."

Carabell revealed that the bank was exploring making a leap into the separate account and 529 plan product lines.

"There is a recognition on the part of the bank that mutual funds are an important area of operations. From a market standpoint, we are coming forward when people may be looking at third party service providers and wondering about their future. There is a future for mutual funds, which will continue to be a strong sector in the financial services industry. We intend to be a strong player," she concluded.  

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