MutualFundWire.com: Shake-up at Lindner Funds

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Friday, June 1, 2001

Shake-up at Lindner Funds

Lindner Funds is operating with a skeleton crew as it paves the way for a complete overhaul of its operations, including outsourcing backoffice operations and customer relations to Firstar. The firm is shutting down its St. Louis, Missouri offices as part of the overhaul, a move that is causing a shakeup in its executive ranks.

Lindner has brought in a "major consulting firm in Boston," to assist it in its reorganization. "We're in the middle of looking at all strategies for going forward: what should we do, what kind of organization should we be?" said a spokesperson for the Milwaukee-based firm.

All told, the firm will end up with a fraction of its original employees, shrinking from 40 to an estimated six to eight staff. Among those leaving the firm are its customer service head and backoffice staff. This figure does not include the investment management staff.

John Elder, acting executive vice president, left on May 18 and its last sales executive officially departed yesterday but has maintained a relationship with the firm. The head of customer relations has remained on board to complete the Firstar transition.

Elder's departure was voluntary and mutually agreed on, and was likely influenced by his commute to St. Louis from his family's Boston home, said a spokesperson. Elder's mutual fund operations function has been assumed by Bill Miller, a longtime board member. Although Miller is based in Chicago and will continue his function there as long as necessary, he is currently located in St. Louis.

"He's there until they make the transition," said the spokesperson. "He's overseeing the transition to Firstar and the move, whatever hires they're going to have in Chicago."

Lindner's retail marketing team has been completely dismantled with the departure of Brian Maloney who is staying as a consultant to the firm during the transition. Maloney, who has operated out of the St. Louis office and covered the central part of the US, will seek other opportunities rather than relocate to one of the other offices. The team had focused around three regional marketing managers. Until Lindner puts a new sales structure into place, the Firstar-based customer service staff will field advisor calls and problems once handled by Maloney.

Thomas Northcote, who handled the firm's institutional sales from Denver, left earlier this spring. The spokesperson also did not know where Northcote had landed.

Lindner will be looking for a new marketing manager later this summer when the dust settles; Brian Minturn, hired a year ago as chief marketing officer, left shortly thereafter, according to the spokesperson.

"He left and part of the continuing reorganization will be finding a full-time marketing director in this year," said the spokesperson. He elaborated on the firm's future strategy by adding, "We will be looking at both individual accounts and advisor-guided dollars and third-party channels for the whole spectrum of how we go to market."

Some issues currently up for debate are the status of positions such as chief investment officer, chief marketing officer, and chief administrative officer. While Mark Finn is acting as portfolio manager and chief investment officer (as well as chief operating officer and vice chairman), the firm is contemplating whether Finn should concentrate on portfolio management, with someone else serving as cio.

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