CEO of LMCG Investments, Ken Swan, is making advisor distribution a bigger focus for his firm.

Kenneth Swan LMCG Investments CEO

Last month, he hired Melanie Karlberg as the firm's first managing director of national accounts. In the newly-created role, Karlberg will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with financial advisors and helping develop their knowledge of LMCG's specialized strategies.

Karlberg's key goal moving forward is building brand recognition for LMCG in the advisor channel and getting the firm's offerings approved on different platforms. She says her primary distro charge out of the gate will be with the TAMPs.

Historically, LMCG's business has been institutionally focused. The firm specializes in strategies targeting inefficient market niches, and has $8 billion in AUM. 85 percent of assets are with institutional clients, and SMAs make up the bulk of their product offerings.

John Harrington, managing director of investments at LMCG, explains that the retail channel provides an opportunity to diversify the business, though they're still primarily an institutional player.

Four years ago, the firm dipped its toe in the retail waters with the launch of its first mutual funds. Today, they have three funds and also subadvise a couple more. Karlberg's hire marks a deeper commitment to growing the channel.

"Prior to hiring Melanie, we didn't have any individual focused on these platforms. That was really the impetus for getting someone with [her] capabilities on board," explains Harrington.

Before joining LMCG Investments, Karlberg served as a partner at Tenaz Consulting, a marketing and consulting firm she co-founded. Prior to that, she spent 11 years at Fidelity as a regional planner and financial planning consultant. She also served as senior vice president responsible for key client relationships at F-Squared Investments.  

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