This Greater Cincinnati Fund Company's Assets Have Skyrocketed

You’d probably never in a million years guess that an office not far from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron handles $4 billion in assets.

But that’s exactly what FTJ FundChoice does, thanks to a growth explosion that has brought its assets under administration from $3 billion just 13 months ago to above the $4 billion mark now.

“We’re hoping to cross $5 billion within the next 12 months,” said president Dean Cook.

FTJ FundChoice does all of the back-office work for investment advisers. That includes managing the investments for about half of its 2,000 or so investment rep clients. It also handles fee billing, reconciling trades, performance reporting and other administrative work that most advisers at small companies don’t want to deal with.

“This allows the advisers to spend time with their clients and do financial planning,” Cook said. “This is where we can add value.”

It uses 13 outside advisers, including Wilshire Associates and Advanced Asset Management Advisors in Columbus, to pick mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that fit clients’ investment strategies.

Most of its clients have $20 million to $100 million in assets under management. That’s relatively small in the investment world. Many are brokers who have left the big firms and started their own registered investment advisory firm. They want to work with clients, but they don’t want to handle all of the grunt work that goes with the business, so they hire outside companies.

Many of FTJ FundChoice’s competitors target bigger clients who manage more money. So it went after the advisers who work with clients with $50,000 to $100,000 to invest, rather than $1 million to $5 million or more.

Related Link:   http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/05/29/this-greater-cincinnati-fund-company-s-assets-have.html