(December 6, 2010) Driven by the immense opportunities for independent firms, the core team that founded Affinity Investment Advisors in 1992 has now re-launched the firm under the Affinity brand as of November 1, 2010 to service institutional and retail clients.
Affinity was first launched as an independent firm in 1992. It was acquired in 2007 by Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The team joined Invesco in June 2010 when it purchased Morgan Stanley’s retail asset management team business.
Gregory Lai, lead portfolio manager for Affinity, noted that by re-entering the market as an indepedent, Affinity will better be able to serve clients as they can have more direct contacts, and will capitalize on the increasing investor interest in boutique management firms.
“Our core team is still in place with the same culture and reputation, which is to put clients first, both in performance and service,” Lai added.
Affinity is led by Lai and Jeffrey Randolph as COO. Affinity’s management team consists of Stephen Pelensky, senior portfolio manager; Michael Petrino, senior portfolio manager; Jordan Floriani, portfolio manager; and Emmy Chang, senior associate. The firm has approximately $700 million in assets under management, predominantly from institutional clients.
The Affinity team’s long history of success is based on its pragmatic quantitative approach to investment. Unique to the Affinity team is a core senior management group that has worked together for well over a decade, despite changes in the brand.
“The money management industry is changing. Affinity is ready to embrace the changes as an independent boutique platform and feel that we have a structure and team that is well prepared for a new world,” added Lai.
Affinity has five products, primarily in Large Cap U.S. Domestic Equities. While its client base is mainly institutional, Affinity serves retail clients through advisory relationships and wrap and model accounts with nationally recognized firms. Executives also note that the firm can create custom products based on client need
Affinity Investment Advisors, LLC is headquartered in Irvine. For more information, call 949-251-2340 or visit www.affinityinvestment.com.