NEW YORK, June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the investment industry's longest-tenured managers will step down later this year as Lead Portfolio Manager of Royce Opportunity Fund and two of the firm's institutional portfolios.

On October 1st, 2018, Boniface A. 'Buzz' Zaino will step down as Lead Portfolio Manager of Royce Opportunity Fund, which he has managed since joining Royce in April 1998. Bill Hench, who has worked with Buzz since 2002 and has long been designated as Buzz's successor, will become the Fund's sole portfolio manager effective on that same date. Bill has managed the Fund with Buzz since 2013 after serving as assistant portfolio manager from 2004-2013.

Buzz will also step down as portfolio manager of Royce Micro-Cap Opportunity Fund, where Bill currently serves as Lead Portfolio Manager, and as lead portfolio manager of two of Royce's institutional portfolios, where Bill will succeed him. Analysts Brian Dowd and Adam Mielnik, who have worked exclusively with Buzz and Bill for the last four years, remain on the Fund's investment team.

"Bill is well prepared and ready for his role on Royce Opportunity Fund," Royce CEO Chris Clark said. "He and Buzz have built an excellent long-term record over the years, and Bill has proven more than capable of executing the Fund's deep value approach to investing in small-cap stocks." Mr. Clark also praised Mr. Zaino, saying, "Buzz is as great a colleague as he is a portfolio manager, a combination we enjoyed over his more than two decades at Royce. He's given the firm a wonderful legacy of investment expertise and friendship, and we are especially grateful for the favorable outcomes he has provided investors in the Royce Opportunity strategies."

Mr. Clark added that Mr. Zaino will stay on at Royce as a Senior Adviser: "We are pleased that Buzz will stay on in an advisory and mentoring capacity, continuing to generously share the skill and experience he has gained during his distinguished career with our entire investment staff."

Mr. Hench said, "I'm very grateful to Buzz for the many valuable years of experience we've shared together here at Royce, which taught me so much about how to be an effective small-cap investor. I'm eager to continue building a record for the Fund that's worthy of his legacy."

Mr. Zaino expressed his own gratitude for his years at the firm: "I want to thank Chuck Royce, Bill, Chris, and all of the wonderful people at Royce who've made the last 20 years so rewarding and enjoyable. Most of all, I want to thank the shareholders who made it possible for me to pursue my passion for investing. I remain committed to the strategy and believe we are in excellent hands with Bill assuming full leadership of the Fund."

Important Disclosure Information

An investor in The Royce Funds should consider the Fund's investment goal, risks, fees, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. 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.

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