ICMA has tapped T. Rowe Price as the third advisor to its $550 million Vantagepoint Aggressive Opportunities Fund. Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price will act as one of three subadvisors to the fund, replacing Roxbury Capital Management. Each of the three firms will advise an equal share of the fund.

The Vantagepoint Funds are the branded fund family for ICMA Retirement Corp., which specializes in providing retirement plans to state and local governments. The family holds some $8 billion in 19 funds, according to ICMA. Government employees can also purchase the funds through IRAs.

A spokesperson for ICMA declined to provide a specific reason for the change in subadvisors. The firm would say that it actively monitors and evaluates each subadvisor to ensure that investors can continue experiencing competitive historical performance.

"From time to time, a change in subadvisors is warranted to improve that opportunity. This typically happens when ICMA-RC identifies a subadvisor change that could be detrimental to the stated objectives of the fund. Examples include a deviation in investment style, a change in ownership or a loss of key personnel," according to a statement.

While the fund lagged its peer group by 10.91 percent in 2002 and is also behind by 1.7 percent so far in 2003, it did surpass others in its objective in 2001, according to date provided by Morningstar.

T. Rowe Price's John H. Laporte will act as the lead portfolio manager for the portion of the fund being managed by his firm. He also manages the T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund.  

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE