Touchstone on prowl for fund adoptions

Touchstone Investments is looking to adopt funds to fill out its product lineup. Although the fund manager launched 10 funds Oct. 1, there are still holes in its product lineup, president Steven Graziano said in an interview. Specifically, Touchstone is interested in acquiring a global tactical-asset-allocation fund. “That's a category that is gaining popularity,” Mr. Graziano said. “Many advisers are less wedded to the style box approach to managing portfolios, and they would like an all-in-one solution where the manager makes the call rather than the adviser.” Fund adoption hasn't been a big part of Touchstone's strategy, but it did play a big role in the growth of Pioneer Investments, where Mr. Graziano headed distribution until August. “The value proposition for adopting a fund is that we can bring our marketing strength to the table, and we can help raise assets,” he said. Mr. Graziano said that the firm doesn't have a timetable for when it would acquire a fund. Touchstone had $5.6 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30. E-mail Jessica Toonkel Marquez at [email protected].