The team at this Chicago-based managed futures specialist is again part of something bigger, thanks to a fund firm CFO.

After two years of going it alone, following a management buyout that spun it out from Old Mutual Asset Management, 2100 Xenon has been picked up by another large asset manager. This time it's Fairport, N.Y.-based Manning & Napier.

Manning announced its acquisition of 2100 yesterday and will be picking up 2100's three funds--the global managed futures fund, the long/short global fixed-income futures fund and the futures alpha fund--as part of the deal. They will be marketed under Manning & Napier's name as Xenon strategies.

The deal is thanks to Manning's chief financial officer, James Mikolaichik, who had previously worked as executive vice president and head of strategy at Old Mutual, and still had ties with the management of 2011 Xenon. He shepherded the deal, according to a company spokesperson.

Jay Feuerstein, CEO and CIO, and Jeff Bolduc, director of research, at Xenon will both join Mannng & Napier, with Feuerstein taking on the title of managing director of Alternative Strategies and Bolduc as a portfolio manager in the firm's Alternative Strategies Group.

The Chicago shop has $200 million under management--about $50 million less from two years ago when it spun out from OMAM. Meanwhile, Manning and Napier manages $52 billion in long-only mutual funds, collective investment trusts and separately managed accounts.

The initial plan is to roll Xenon's strategies into Manning's existing funds and it remains to be seen whether the two firms will work on future product development together. It looks like Old Mutual did try to register the Old Mutual 2100 Xenon Managed Futures Strategy Fund in 2011, before unloading the firm a year later.

When Old Mutual sold off 2100 Xenon in 2012, it also unloaded four other firms and has continued to shed boutique asset managers as part of a plan to take the company public. Manning & Napier is already a publicly traded company, having first IPOed in November, 2011. Its shares have been trading in the $16 range this year.

Executives at both Manning & Napier and 2100 Xenon were not available for further comment at press time and the terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

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