A Midwestern mutual fund shop's chief has several new hires planned in sales, marketing, and research. Meanwhile, the boutique just crossed a key milestone and added another executive to the C-suite.

Kevin Kinzie LoCorr Fund Management Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Kevin Kinzie, CEO and founder of Minneapolis-based LoCorr Fund Management [profile], confirms that he's looking for an external wholesaler to cover Southern California. He's also looking for another national accounts specialist. Further down the line, watch for him in marketing and in research while also promoting someone in sales. But don't expect him to launch new funds just yet.

Kinzie just hired Anne Senne as chief operating officer for LoCorr "to sort of beef up [LoCorr's] internal operations." Senne, an RBC Wealth Management veteran who most recently served as head of global client experience at the broker-dealer, now runs LoCorr's operations, marketing, products, and research. Senne succeeds Jon Essen, who remains chief financial officer for LoCorr.

"She had a similar role, on a different side of the fence," Kinzie tells MFWire.

Meanwhile, a month ago LoCorr crossed the $2-billion AUM line, and its six strategies now hold a combined $2.4 billion (including $2.2 billion in the mutual fund versions of those strategies). LoCorr, Kinzie says, had "record sales in 2014 and 2015."

"We're sort of on pace to double or triple our sales from last year," Kinzie says, pointing to more interest from advisors looking for liquid alternatives in light of recent market volatility.

Kinzie confirms that he's currently "looking at two other potential products," though it's still in the "early stages" and he's in no rush. They will instead "focus on existing strategies."

"We're not a big believer that more is better," Kinzie says. "We probably won't launch a new fund this year. It'll probably be 2017."

Looking ahead, Kinzie says he'll "add somebody else in research and somebody else in marketing" this year. And he also expects to add a division sales director to manage LoCorr's wholesalers in the western part of the U.S. Kris Jaenicke, senior vice president, serves as the eastern division sales director, while the wholesalers in the west currently report directly to Kinzie. LoCorr currently has 14 external wholesalers (plus the open position in Southern California) and 10 internals.

"Currently we're not expanding [the wholesaler team] unless we add any other significant broker-dealer platforms," Kinzie says.

As for the western division sales director job, the plan is "to add it at any time."

"We prefer to promote from within," Kinzie says. "We will do that one way or another this year."

On the national accounts side, senior vice president Ruxandra Risko leads that effort. Risko works with a second national account specialist and is looking to add a third. LoCorr's funds are currently on "about 130" B-D platforms, Kinzie says. 

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