Alameda, California-based Phocas Financial is becoming the subadvisor of the Frontier Netols Small Cap Value Fund as Jeff Netols, the fund’s lead PM, retires. Netols is the owner of the fund's current subadvisor, Netols Asset Management.

William Schaff Phocas Financial CEO

Northbrook, Illinois-based Frontegra Asset Management is the fund’s advisor and Netols Asset Management is the fund’s subadvisor until Phocas takes over. Netols declined to comment on what's next for the firm.

“In order to avoid disruption, the board decided to switch the subadvisor over to Phocas,” Bill Forsyth, President of Frontegra, tells MFWire.

Forsyth says that Netols Asset Management will close after the change because this is the firm's only fund. He also says nothing will change on Frontegra's end as advisor.

The switch was scheduled for July 3.

"We’ve had a long standing relationship with the fund’s trustees, so they trust us and they’re comfortable with us which makes the transition smooth,” Bill Schaff, CEO of Phocas, tells MFWire. “It should go pretty seamlessly."

The fund currently has $48.4 million in AUM. Steve Block of Phocas will manage the fund along with Schaff. Schaff says he doesn’t have plans to change the management strategy of the fund. Schaff and Block are currently PMs on the Frontier Phocas Small Cap Value Fund.

Netols founded Mequon, Wisconsin-based Netols Asset Management in 2000 and launched the Netols Fund in 2007. Before founding his firm, Netols was a PM for Associated Bank Corp and Putnam Investments.  

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