Rockland Trust Co., the subsidiary of banking company Rockland, Mass.-based Independence Bank, has gotten into a new line of business: mutual funds.
Through a new wealth-management arm, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC, the bank is now offering two funds, Bright Rock Quality Large Cap and Bright Rock Mid Cap Growth.
David Smith, chief investment officer at Rockland Trust, answered five questions about the new products.
PBN: Why create mutual funds now? There must be a reason for the timing.
SMITH: Approximately one year ago we hired a team to deliver small-cap growth and mid-cap growth equity strategies to the marketplace. The reaction to the strategies has been very positive. Prospective clients asked for a mutual fund vehicle to gain access to the mid-cap growth strategy. We delivered it based on those requests.
PBN: Who are these funds targeting?
SMITH: The marketing efforts are predominantly focused on intermediaries such as bank trust departments, family offices, registered investment advisers, brokerage platforms and institutional consultants.
PBN: Without a mutual fund track record, how does Bright Rock Capital Management LLC attract investors willing to participate?
SMITH: While the mutual funds do not have track records because they are new, the investment strategies we have deployed in the mutual funds have long-term track records spanning over 10 years in both cases.
PBN: Is it unusual for banks of Rockland Trust’s size to offer their own mutual funds? If so, will Rockland Trust’s peers be doing the same in the future?
SMITH: Much of the success Rockland Trust’s Investment Management Group has accomplished is unusual for an organization of its size. We feel we have the products, marketing strategy and professionals to make these funds and our institutional/intermediary initiative a success.
PBN: What are the future plans for Bright Rock Capital Management?
SMITH: Our focus for the moment is to make these products successful. When we have proven we can be successful in the institutional/intermediary channel, we will explore potential new products that we can deliver to the marketplace.
