MutualFundWire.com: William Blair Reins in International Growth

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

William Blair Reins in International Growth

The product chiefs at William Blair & Company [profile] are barring the door on two mutual funds with a combined $4.8 billion of AUM.

The last day for new shareholders to get into the mutual funds was last Friday (the official closing was June 30), fund officials announced.

The two funds, two-decade old William Blair International Growth and William Blair Institutional International Growth, have a combined $4.8 billion in AUM and have like investment strategies.

Michelle Seitz, head of investment management and an executive committee member at William Blair, said the two funds are closing to control asset growth and "maintain the growth of the investment process and performance of our strategies."

William Blair International Growth Closing to New Investors on June 30, 2012
William Blair & Company announced today that the William Blair International Growth strategy will close to new investors on June 30, 2012.

"We believe that closing the International Growth strategy is in the best interest of clients," said Michelle Seitz, CFA, head of Investment Management and a member of the firm's executive committee.

"The portfolio management team for the International Growth strategy now manages about $12.4 billion, of which the International Growth and Institutional International Growth Funds represent almost $4.8 billion," Seitz said. "The International Growth strategy invests in foreign companies of all sizes, including a substantial allocation to small cap and emerging markets stocks. This decision is consistent with our philosophy of controlling asset growth to maintain the integrity of the investment process and performance of our strategies."

The William Blair International Growth Fund was started on October 1, 1992, and is managed by George Greig, who works with an integrated research team.