PITTSBURGH, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Federated Investors, Inc. (NYSE: FII), one of the nation's largest investment managers, today announced portfolio manager moves within its fixed-income unit. Effective with the retirement of Christopher J. Smith, senior portfolio manager, on April 9, 2014, two Federated investment personnel step into expanded portfolio manager roles. They bring a combined 26 years of investment experience and 20 years of Federated experience.
Jerome D. Conner, portfolio manager, joins the Federated Capital Income Fund team and has fixed-income responsibilities within the balanced strategy. He joins an experienced and well-established multi-sector team of portfolio managers led by John L. Nichol and Linda Bakhshian in equities and Todd A. Abraham, Mark E. Durbiano and Ihab L. Salib in fixed income. Conner has 18 years of investment experience, including 12 years at Federated. A member of the fixed-income team's sector allocation committee, Conner joined Federated in 2002 as an investment analyst, responsible for research and competitive analysis in the domestic fixed-income area concentrating on high-grade corporate and commercial mortgage-backed securities. He previously worked at Riggs Capital Partners, Allied Capital and Mellon Bank. A former officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, Conner earned a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in business administration from Boston University.
Chengjun (Chris) Wu, portfolio manager, joins experienced investment management teams already in place for Federated Global Allocation Fund, Federated Managed Risk Fund and Federated MDT Balanced Fund. He is a member of the fixed-income team's duration committee and has managed Federated separate account portfolios for five years. Wu joined Federated in 2006 as a senior quantitative analyst in the domestic fixed-income area. Before joining Federated, he was a financial analyst at Quantitative Risk Management, Inc. Wu earned a bachelor's degree from Beijing Normal University, a master's degree from University of Illinois at Chicago and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
Federated's fixed-income strategies emphasize a collaborative approach that comprises the skills of an experienced team led by Robert J. Ostrowski, chief investment officer for the taxable fixed-income group. "Our fixed-income investment process emphasizes the collective wisdom and concerted efforts of a deep and seasoned group of portfolio managers who work in teams to evaluate duration management, sector allocation, yield curve strategy, currency management and security selection," said Ostrowski.
"We appreciate the contributions that Chris has made during his 19 years with Federated and wish him the best on his decision to retire," said John B. Fisher, president and chief executive officer of Federated Advisory Companies.
Federated Investors, Inc. is one of the largest investment managers in the United States, managing $376.1 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2013. With 135 funds, as well as a variety of separately managed account options, Federated provides comprehensive investment management worldwide to approximately 6,000 institutions and intermediaries including corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. For more information, visit FederatedInvestors.com.
Certain statements in this press release, such as Federated's staffing expectations or its ability to offer the same strategies and processes in the future, may constitute forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties also include the risk factors discussed in the company's annual and quarterly reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, no assurance can be given as to future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and neither the company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such statements in the future.
SOURCE Federated Investors, Inc.