Phoenix Investment Partners' deal with Harris Investment Management opens the highly rated Harris Insight Funds family to more potential investors. Under the deal, Phoenix is adopting the funds and subadvising the management back to Harris. Phoenix also struck a deal with Turner Investment Partners to adopt the Turner Strategic Growth Fund. The 19 Harris Insight Funds, with about $10.5 billion in assets, have until now only been available to Harris and affiliate customers, including a community banking network, in the greater Chicago area. Dan Geraci, president and ceo of Phoenix Investment Partners, said the deal also gives Phoenix a quiet entry into the corporate cash management business as Harris has thriving money market funds with two-thirds of the assets from corporations. Geraci will look to expand that business. He said the deal gives Phoenix access to seven new four-star rated funds and one five-star fund, among others.

Phoenix has been positioning itself as a multi-manager fund complex that uses institutional money managers rarely seen in retail. Geraci said Harris adds a quantitative style to Phoenix's mix, giving it the ability to add another style to many of its already multi-manager funds. Phoenix will now consider adding the quantitative style--which has a less volatile performance profile than active management--to funds such as its large-cap growth fund.