Harris Associates has set the stage to develop its institutional business. The Chicago-based firm has hired Keith Watson for the newly-created position of director of institutional business development.

Watson most recently worked as the vice president of sales for mPower, a San-Francisco 401(k) advice provider.

Watson is responsible for marketing the Harris investment products to investment consultants and institutions. He reports to Thomas Barron, director of business development. Harris's sales staff of four has been handling institutional clients, but Watson's experience in the 401(k) area makes him a natural to handle those clients.

"It's one of the areas that he has a lot of contacts, and certainly has a history," said Kelly Arnold, assistant director of marketing for Harris.

Does the firm expect to expand its efforts into the lucrative 401(k) area with more staff?

"I think that we'll continue to evaluate whether or not we'll need additional resources," said Arnold.

The increased emphasis on institutional distribution came in response to increased demand from clients.

"As we saw value investing start to turn, we've seen a lot more attention from institutional clients," said Arnold. "There's a greater demand for value investments."

Harris manages the Oakmark Funds, a family of seven funds with $5.5 billion under management. All funds come in both retail and institutional share classes. The firm has $12.1 billion in total in assets under management, including its separate accounts business as well as an alternative investment fund of funds.

 

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