Fred Alger Management scoops up Boston-based asset manager

Alger Associates, the parent company of Fred Alger Management, is acquiring Weatherbie Capital, a Boston-based registered investment adviser with $800 million under management. The deal, expected to close in March, represents Alger's first acquisition since 1974, 10 years after the company was founded. Weatherbie, founded in 1995 by Matthew Weatherbie, manages private portfolios of small- and mid-cap equities. Pending shareholder approval, the five-person Weatherbie investment management team will take over management of some Alger mutual fund assets, bringing Weatherbie's total asset management responsibilities to approximately $1 billion. “We have always believed there is a unique and potentially advantageous investment opportunity in a company's lifecycle that exists just beyond what we call the 'perils of infancy' and just before a company fully matures,” Mr. Weatherbie said. “That is where we find opportunities to invest, and that is where we have been able to identify exciting growth opportunities for the past 20 years.” James Tambone, executive vice president and chief distribution officer at Alger, said the goal is for Weatherbie to “take over management of one of our mutual funds and half of another. This was an opportunity to affiliate with a growth equity manager with a process and culture that is really close to Alger's.” Alger manages $19.5 billion and is based in New York. Mr. Tambone said there are no plans to consolidate Weatherbie or relocate the company from Boston. “We're quite excited that they're in Boston,” he said. “They will stay intact, and they will stay in the same Boston office.” While Weatherbie's portfolios are mostly institutional and private, the team acts as sub-advisers on the Persimmon Long/Short Fund (LSEAX) and the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund (ASG). Mr. Weatherbie is also part of the storied history of the Putnam Voyager fund, which was merged last year with the Putnam Growth Opportunties Fund (POGAX). Details of the private transaction were not disclosed.