Rockland Trust, the Massachusetts-based bank, has established a new company dedicated to institutional investment management for clients both in and out of the US.

The combined assets under management of Rockland and Bright Rock Capital Management now exceed $1.3 billion, mostly from investment management products across the country's equity and fixed income markets. The entity is supported by Rockland's $4.5 billion infrastructure and resources, the firms said in a statement.

"We see an opportunity to provide institutional investors with direct access to industry leading and highly focused investment management capabilities across the US equity markets and beyond," said David Smith, the firm's chief investment officer.

The company will offer both separately managed accounts, as well as mutual funds. As regards large institutions, the firm will also have the capacity to customize mandates, with specific attention to mid-cap growth, small-cap growth, and quality large cap areas of the market, among others.

Its sole focus will be on institutional and high net worth clients.