Neuberger Hires Northern Trust Team

Mutual fund company Neuberger Berman Inc. has hired fund manager Jon Brorson and three others from larger rival money management firm Northern Trust Corp.

Neuberger acquired the growth stock fund team after cutting 2% of its workforce last quarter.

This month, Neuberger said it would buy the U.S. arbitrage division of Credit Agricole Group for an undisclosed sum.

Shares of Neuberger gained 67 cents to $33.65 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have declined 23% this year. The New York-based firm had $53.6 billion in assets under management at the end of September.

Shares of Chicago-based Northern Trust, which have dropped 39% this year, fell 32 cents to $36.52 on Nasdaq. It manages $293 billion.

Northern Trust’s $640-million Growth Equity Fund, previously managed by the team that included Brorson, has lost 21% so far this year, better than 62% of similar funds. In the last five years, the fund has gained an average of 0.4% a year, outpacing 64% of similar funds, according to Bloomberg data.

Northern Trust said John Leo, a senior investment manager, will take Brorson’s place at the head of the growth team.