Numeric Investors has exited the mutual fund business. On Feb. 23, the boutique Cambridge, Mass., money manager liquidated all of its retail mutual funds to pursue its separately managed account business. Numeric has separate accounts that employ the same strategies as the funds, but it also runs large-cap, market-neutral and other strategies. Its lineup of quantitative mutual funds comprised a mere 3.5 percent of its total assets (about $450 million out of $13 billion) but these funds had excellent track records.
The offerings that will be liquidated are the N/I Numeric Investors Growth (NISGX), which had a 10-year return of 9.0 percent; N/I Numeric Investors Emerging Growth (NIMCX), which posted a 14.9 percent return over 10 years; N/I Numeric Investors Mid-Cap (NIGVX) with its 12.6 percent return; and N/I Numeric Investors Small-Cap Value (NISVX), which boasts a 19.2 percent gain over the last decade.
The funds closed to new investors at low levels of assets in order to remain nimble, and the schedule for the fund's performance-adjusted management fee was tilted heavily in shareholders' favor. Investors that hold the funds in taxable accounts may receive significant capital-gains distributions as a result of the liquidation, according to Morningstar analysts.
