Driehaus Mutual Funds has hired
Gary Dicenzo, vice president of mutual fund sales, was hired to head funds sales in both the retirement and intermediary distribution channels, the Chicago, Illinois-based company said.
Dicenzo joined Driehaus October 11, from
Safeco Funds and is located in the company's Chicago office. Driehaus will be adding to its sales force in the near future as it expands its efforts in the fund area, Dicenzo said.
Bob Moyer, president and chief executive officer of Driehaus said that as the funds' recent performance has improved dramatically-- the Asian Pacific fund is up 150% and the international small cap is up 86% year-to-date-- Driehaus made the decision to become more serious in distribution.
Driehaus has begun to target the financial planner community because "those people are trained and it is the same sell as institutions," Moyer said. "We would like to build a consultant and financial planner community. We will never be competing with
Fidelity or
Vanguard."
Although the company plans on expanding its distribution, it might not expand its sales department as quickly as Dicenzo suggests, said Moyer.
Moyer said he wants to focus on the performance. "There are too many funds that are driven by marketing. What we try to do as a firm is look inside at our core competency, work on it and then go out. Money gathering is not our business. In the long term we will serve our own self interest if we can show performance."
The
Driehaus International Growth Fund has just earned Morningstar's five star status, Moyer said.
There are presently no immediate plans to add any mutual funds, Moyer said. "We would like to add a little bit to their size and to their performance."
There are presently 10 products in beta testing which might lead to more mutual funds in the future, Moyer said.
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