A mutual fund entrepreneur is adding a distribution channel as he and his team celebrate a critical milestone.

Abhay Deshpande Centerstone Investors/font> Founder, Chief Investment Officer

The Centerstone Investors team is now going after institutional clients (such as endowments, foundations, and family offices) and getting ready to offer their strategies in customized, separately managed accounts (SMAs), confirms Abhay Deshpande, the founder, majority owner, and chief investment officer of the New York City-based fund firm. The move comes as Deshpande sees new opportunities opening up thanks to Centerstone's two strategies (both currently only in mutual fund forma, specifically the Centerstone Investors Fund and the Centerstone International Fund) crossing their three-year lines on May 3.

"In the institutional space, we can customize the model," Deshpande says. "We can slice and dice ... any way they want."

The firm now has about $600 million in AUM ("a little bit ahead" of Deshpande's expectations, he says) and has a team of 15 people. The firm remains 100-percent employee-owned, with Deshpande as the majority owner, he confirms. They're an active, bottom-up, fundamental, value investing shop.

In anticipation of the big milestone, last month Deshpande hired both his team's first institutional sales executive and a second compliance specialist.

"We've chosen to go slower in order to make sure that we focus on the right people," Deshpande says, adding that he's always interested in interested in hiring analysts with "non-traditional backgrounds."

"We're always looking for highly qualified people for the investment team," Deshpande says.

Looking ahead, in terms of product structure, Deshpande says that "it's all on the table," including UCITs for international distribution. And he'll consider adding likeminded strategies (i.e. ones with long-term investment time horizons), by bringing on likeminded teams. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE