Bank of America Announces Two Key Appointments
6 April 1999
Bank of America Investment Management Announces Two Key Additions to Staff and a New U.S. Business Strategy
ST. LOUIS--April 6, 1999--Bank of America Investment Management (BAIM) -- which manages approximately $120 billion in assets -- today announced two key additions to staff with the appointment of Preston (Tony) Estep as senior vice president and chief quantitative strategist and the naming of John W. Zimmerman as senior vice president and senior investment strategist.The staff announcements were made by Michael E. Kenneally, president of Bank of America Investment Management, the investment management division of the Bank of America Private Bank.
"We recently changed our name from Private Investments to Bank of America Investment Management to emphasize our broad capabilities, our core competencies, and our staff of investment professionals who possess a diversified range of skills, all of which will be of substantial benefit to our high-net-worth clients," said Kenneally.
With almost 300 portfolio managers and offices in 55 cities, Bank of America Investment Management is the largest organization of its kind in the United States in terms of assets under management and provides a full range of investment services, including equity and fixed income portfolio management, to very affluent individuals worldwide.
This scale has created a tremendous resource base that can deliver effective financial solutions, customized to the needs of tax-sensitive investors. Account services are provided through local investment professionals who can leverage all of the capabilities of Bank of America to benefit Private Bank clients.
"We are actively expanding into new markets throughout the United States and will be bringing our full set of solutions to both new and existing clients. The strong stock market of recent years has created tremendous wealth, but has also increased future tax liabilities for the affluent. Our expertise in working with financial advisors, managing money in a tax-sensitive way, and pursuing strong investment performance should attract considerable new business. California, Florida, Texas and other states represent enormous opportunities for our services, and we will be focusing additional resources on these markets," Kenneally noted.
"One of those ways is exemplified by our commitment to excellent, broad-based research that help us make sound, tax-sensitive investment decisions that are relevant to a client's goals and objectives," said Kenneally.
According to Kenneally, BAIM knows that it has many satisfied clients because about one third of its new business comes directly and indirectly from them. It also has had an attractive investment performance record, and has exceeded its benchmarks over the past three years. In fact, Bank of America Investment Management is one of a small number of active investment managers that has surpassed the S&P 500 Index during that time interval, and has done so with a low turnover in portfolio holdings and a tax-sensitive investment style.
"We feel certain that the broad experience Tony and John bring to their respective positions will help us achieve these new national business development objectives. For example, Tony's diverse background in research, quantitative analysis and equity portfolio management, and John's extensive background in research and equity portfolio management give them unique insights into providing our Private Bank clients with innovative financial solutions," said Kenneally.
A five-time winner of Institutional Investor's All-American Analysts award in equity research, Estep will play a leading role in setting investment strategy for personal investment products Bank of America.
In his new role, Zimmerman is charged with developing investment strategy of BAIM, in addition to acting as senior analyst in the area of banking and diversified financial services.
Prior to joining Bank of America Investment Management, Estep was managing partner for three years at Estep Capital Management L.P., a money management firm he helped found and was an associate member of the American Stock Exchange. In this position, he was responsible for managing the firm's arbitrage hedge fund through computer software he developed to model portfolio returns and execute trades.
Before this, Estep managed securities research, analysis, and trading operations at a variety of Wall Street firms. From 1991 to 1994, he was worldwide managing director of the Global Portfolio Trading unit of CS First Boston. From 1986 to 1991, he was a general partner with New Amsterdam Partners L.P., another money management firm he helped co-found.
In the early 1980s, Estep was director of equity quantitative research for Salomon Brothers, Inc., where he was responsible for developing and marketing an on-line data and analytical service for equity clients. He earned four of his Institutional Investor All-American Analyst awards during his tenure at Salomon Brothers.
Estep holds a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature from Washington University. He speaks French and Spanish, and is an amateur rock climber and musician.
Zimmerman joined BAIM after serving most recently as senior vice president of equity investments for Conning Asset Management. His previous background also includes 10 years of experience as vice president and co-manager of fundamental research for Boatmen's Trust Company, a predecessor organization of Bank of America Investment Management.
A Chartered Financial Analyst, Zimmerman was named to the "Best of the Buy Side" by Institutional Investor in November 1994. He holds a master's of business administration degree from St. Louis University and a bachelor's degree in business administration, with an emphasis in finance, from the University of Missouri.
Zimmerman is a past president of the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts, a member of the Bank and Financial Analysts Association of New York, and has served as a long-standing member of the AIMR Corporate Information Committee.
Primary services offered by Bank of America Investment Management include providing asset allocation strategy and the active management of stock and bond portfolios. Bank of America Investment Management offers a tax-sensitive, core-growth equity style that can be complemented with specialized products. Understanding the importance of managing for risk as well as return, Bank of America Investment Management also provides a number of diversification and hedging alternatives. More than 100 specialists furnish the portfolio managers of Bank of America Investment Management with full-service research, trading, and administrative expertise.
The Bank of America Private Bank delivers integrated financial services tailored to the needs of high-net-worth individuals and family owned businesses nationwide and serves 95,000 relationships through approximately 100 dedicated private banking offices in 24 states. The Private Bank provides clients with investment, fiduciary and comprehensive credit expertise through a single contact. Services offered include discretionary investment management; specialized asset management, including real estate; personal trust services; tax and estate planning; customized lending; asset allocation; mutual funds and brokerage.