Easterly Asset Management acquires muni funds, hires former OppenheimerFunds co-head

2 min read

7 months ago admin

Easterly Asset Management acquired two municipal investment mutual funds and hired two managers, including the former co-head of municipals at OppenheimerFunds Rochester, to run them.

Easterly, a Massachusetts-based asset manager with $3 billion under management, added PSP High Income Municipal Bond Mutual Fund and the PSP Short-Term Municipal Fund, which have a combined $600 million of assets, to its portfolio.

The funds’ names will change in June to Easterly RocMuni High Yield and Easterly RocMuni Short Duration, said Darrell Crate, Easterly managing principal.

Easterly Asset Management Managing Principal Darrell Crate said he looked for two years before settling on hiring two professionals to manage munis for his firm.

Along with the new mutual funds, the firm will also offer munis in separately managed accounts.

Easterly hired two muni professionals from Principal Street Partners. Troy Willis, former co-head of the OppenheimerFunds Rochester Municipal Bond team, will be chief investment officer of municipal bond strategies of the funds, the same title he held at Principal Street Partners. Charlie Pulire retains the senior portfolio manager of municipal bond strategies title he held at Principal Street Partners.

“Troy Willis and Charlie Pulire have a solid track record of strong investment performance that will expand Easterly’s active fixed income solutions,” Crate said, noting he spent two years looking for the right fit.

With many of its clients focusing on after-tax income, Crate said, Easterly decided to add municipal bond funds to its portfolio.

Easterly is based in Boston but has offices in New York City and around the country, Crate said. Willis and Pulire will work from Rochester, New York.