Effective 4/1/22, Steven McBoyle and Lauren Romeo, CFA® will become Co-Lead Portfolio Managers on Royce Premier Fund, where they have been portfolio managers since 2016. Each has been involved in the Fund’s management since 2014 and 2006, respectively. Chuck Royce, who has been managing the Strategy since its inception in 1991, continues on the portfolio management team and will rotate from Lead Portfolio Manager to Portfolio Manager. Andrew Palen, who is a Senior Analyst working on the Fund, will become Assistant Portfolio Manager, effective immediately.   

Chuck Royce said, “I’m so pleased to have such an experienced and talented team on the Strategy. Both Steven and Lauren have been working side by side with me for many years and have been instrumental to the Strategy’s success. I am also excited that we’re recognizing the valuable contributions that Andrew has made to the Strategy’s success by elevating him to Assistant Portfolio Manager. I believe the strategy is in very capable hands and I look forward to supporting the team however I can.” 

Ms. Romeo added, “I’m excited that Steven and I will be taking the lead on the Premier Strategy that we’ve worked on together with Chuck for many years. Chuck pioneered the application of this discipline in small-caps, which now spans more than three decades, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to learn from and work with him. The Premier strategy’s performance since Chuck, Steven, and I formally became a team in 2014 in part reflects our cohesive, disciplined investment process and healthy stock debates, which will remain the foundation of the team dynamic going forward.”  

Mr. McBoyle said, “I couldn’t be happier to work together with Lauren to lead the Strategy. It’s a great honor and responsibility for Chuck to have transitioned the leadership of this Fund to Lauren and me, a time-tested strategy that he has been leading since its inception more than 30 years ago. With Chuck’s continued engagement and Andrew taking a larger role, we think we have a wonderful opportunity to sustain the Strategy’s high performance standard and continue to offer a broad array of investors a differentiated quality approach to the small-cap asset class.”  

Royce CEO Chris Clark added, “We are very fortunate to have this highly experienced team managing one of our most important strategies. We have every confidence in the proven skill that Steven and Lauren will bring to leading this Strategy, and we’re also happy to recognize Andrew for his important contributions to the team. We have been thoughtful and deliberate in the succession planning process for this Strategy, and we’re pleased to announce this important next step today.” 

The portfolio managers will maintain the same approach the Strategy has used since the inception of Royce Premier Fund in 1991. They will seek to invest in a limited number of “premier” small-cap companies. Royce defines “premier” companies as those that it believes are trading below its estimate of their current worth that also have excellent business strengths, strong balance sheets and/or improved prospects for growth, the potential for improvement in cash flow levels and internal rates of return, and franchise sustainability. The team will continue to focus on companies with these positive attributes, as well as low debt and attractive prospects, that are selling at prices Royce believes do not fully reflect their value. 

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