Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator instructions) Our first question is coming from Cynthia Mayer from Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead.
Cynthia Mayer – Merrill Lynch
Hi good morning. Just a couple of questions. One, just to follow up on what you were mentioning about seeding new products. I’m wondering if you have in mind a certain amount of cash that you want to commit to seeding new products? What kind of size portfolio could you end up with?
Marty Cohen
Cynthia, we don’t really have a target. It’s been a great use of capital on our balance sheet and the opportunity to start new initiatives and get track records going. That’s really what dictates how much we invest rather than having some set number.
Matt Stadler
Right. I mean, the 17 million that we put into the long-short fund is probably one of the bigger amounts that we’ve done. Typically when we seed our open-end funds, or we put some money in the close-end funds for lesser amounts. But the amount that we invest will be dictated in part on what the expectation is to market the fund so that we show a competitive amount of ?skin in the game.?
Cynthia Mayer – Merrill Lynch
Okay. You guys have such a strong balance sheet. Do you want to talk a little about what you want to use it for aside from seed investments? What opportunities are you seeing, or would you consider – I don’t know what your distribution arrangement, whether that would cost something somehow, but do you see opportunities to expand using your balance sheet?
Marty Cohen
Well, we are very comfortable with our cash position. And right now, we are very happy to be using it as we are today. But clearly we hope it doesn’t happen, but if this environment in the financial markets and some of the other asset managers, if there are opportunities to expand our business, we certainly are open for looking at that. But we don’t have a capital plan right now to do anything specifically, but really we look for – wait for opportunities either internally or externally. I know that sounds very generic, but it’s exactly where we are today.
Cynthia Mayer – Merrill Lynch
Okay. And then just couple of quick questions on flows, you had nice inflows at that large value fund, but outflows from REITs on separate accounts. I’m just wondering what you attribute that outflows from REIT products to separate accounts at this stage? Is there a sense among institutional clients that REIT underperformance is likely to continue or come back or they are just being risk-averse, or are they going to passive vehicles?
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