Aggregator to design models and grant access to open-architecture platform. Institutional multi-manager Wilshire Funds Management has agreed to provide investment services to clients of First Private Bank & Trust, an Encino, Calif.-based private banking affiliate of Boston Private Financial Holdings.

"This agreement marks a unique opportunity for private banking and trust clients in Southern California to take advantage of Wilshire's internationally renowned investment management expertise," says Gary Helme, executive v.p. of First Private Bank & Trust. "Our relationship meshes institutional investment know-how with the high level of service offered by First Private."

Programs and managers

Wilshire Funds will provide investment programs to address the goals and tax sensitivities of First Private's fiduciary- and investment-service clients.

Private clients will also have access to leading national investment managers through Wilshire Fund's open-architecture investment-management platform and be able to tap into the manager of manager's asset-allocation and portfolio-management expertise.

"Prominent families and foundations in Los Angeles have been saying for some time that they would prefer an open-architecture approach to investing so that they don't feel limited to a brokerage, bank or trust company," says First Private's CIO Sally Pai. "Wilshire's architecture is 100% open. We believe this offering will be extremely appealing to First Private's individual customers."

Wilshire Funds Management is a unit of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Wilshire Associates. It provides about $20 billion in traditional and alternative multi-manager investments.

First Private is a member of the Boston Private's Wealth Management Group, which has more than $32 billion in assets under management or advisory. -FWR

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