NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Royce & Associates, LP, the small-cap equity specialist, is pleased to announce changes to the portfolio management teams for Royce Opportunity and Micro-Cap Opportunity Funds as well as related institutional portfolios. These changes become effective on October 1 and 15, 2018.

On October 1, Boniface A. 'Buzz' Zaino will step down as Lead Portfolio Manager of Royce Opportunity Fund and as portfolio manager of Royce Micro-Cap Opportunity Fund, which Royce first announced on June 28^th, 2018.  Bill Hench, who has worked with Buzz since 2002 and was long designated as his successor, will become each Fund's sole portfolio manager effective on that same date. Analyst Adam Mielnik remains part of the investment team.

Rob Kosowsky, assistant portfolio manager of Royce & Associates, will join Bill as assistant portfolio manager on October 1, 2018. Rob joined Royce in 2015, and prior to that was an equity analyst at Sidoti & Company (2009-2015).

Rob said, "Having known Buzz and Bill since working at Sidoti, I'm very familiar with this approach and excited to join our firm's successful deep value franchise."

On October 15, 2018, Suzanne Franks will also join as assistant portfolio manager. Suzanne has more than 20 years of experience in equity research, portfolio management, and investment banking. In 2009, she founded Vivid Research Inc., an independent research boutique focused on companies facing opportunistic or event-driven catalysts. In addition, she has been conducting research for Bill and Buzz for the last six years.

She earned an M.B.A. at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1996 and B.B.A. in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, at Texas A&M University in 1991.

Suzanne said, "I'm honored to join Royce and to be working with Bill and the team. I look forward to contributing to the strategy's success and believe my own experience, which has focused on companies facing opportunistic or event-driven catalysts, fits very well with Royce's Deep Value approach."

"I'm very happy to have Suzanne and Rob join the portfolio management team," Bill said. "Both bring a great deal of experience and extensive knowledge of the small-cap market. Equally important, their familiarity with our deep value approach means that they can immediately make significant contributions to our efforts."

Important Disclosure Information
An investor in The Royce Funds should consider the Fund's investment goal, risks, fees, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. A prospectus containing this and other important information may be obtained by calling Investor Services at 1-800-221-4268 or by visiting www.roycefunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.

About Royce & Associates, LP: Royce & Associates, LP, is a small-cap equity specialist offering distinct investment strategies with unique risk/return profiles designed to meet a variety of investors' needs. For more than 40 years, our strategies have focused on active, risk-conscious investing driven by deep, fundamental company research. Chuck Royce, the firm's founder and a pioneer of small-cap investing, enjoys one of the longest tenures in the industry. Royce & Associates, LP is a subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM). Royce Fund Services, LLC, the Fund's distributor, is a member of FINRA and the SIPC.

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SOURCE Royce & Associates, LP