National Investment Services

What National Investment Services does

National Investment Services (NIS) is a Chicago-based, SEC-registered institutional asset manager founded in 1993 that specializes in active fixed income and equity portfolio management for pension plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and Taft-Hartley plans. The firm operated as a 100% employee-owned boutique through 2014, partnered with Resolute Investment Managers in 2019 (which rebranded as American Beacon Partners in September 2025) to secure scale, distribution, and operational infrastructure while preserving employee ownership and investment autonomy, and is now governed by a board composed of NIS principals and American Beacon representatives. As of March 31, 2026, NIS managed $16.3 billion in AUM (up roughly 30% since 2023) with 39 employees across Oak Brook, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

NIS runs two main strategy families. Traditional Fixed Income (Short Duration, Intermediate, Intermediate Plus, Core, Core Plus, SRI, and Liability Driven Investing) is offered through separate accounts at a $20MM minimum and commingled vehicles at $5MM with twice-monthly liquidity. Enhanced Yield Strategies (Dynamic Fixed Income, Total Absolute Return, Preferred Stock, High Yield, Short Duration High Yield) are delivered exclusively via commingled vehicles, with the Total Absolute Return strategy targeting positive monthly returns more than 85% of the time. NIS also sub-advises the American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund mutual fund launched in 2020 and has begun offering Collective Investment Trust (CIT) vehicles since 2023.

The firm operates an active management process built on bottom-up security and sector analysis, credit and structure research, narrow duration bandwidth versus benchmark, and an Investment Strategy Committee that sets sector allocation ranges. This is supported by proprietary technology including maturity and duration monitoring, guideline compliance software, a sector inventory database, a 1–5 risk scoring system, and pro-rata trade allocation designed to mitigate dispersion across similar mandates. NIS earns management fees on AUM (commingled vehicle custody at Comerica Bank, independent audit by Baker Tilly), sells exclusively through direct institutional sales and consultant relationships (led by dedicated Directors of Institutional Sales and Consultant Relations), and positions itself around fiduciary alignment, consistent performance, and downside protection.

Name

National Investment Services

Legal name

National Investment Services

Website

https://nisi.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Investment Services is an employee-owned, Chicago-based institutional asset manager that runs active traditional and enhanced-yield fixed income strategies through separate accounts and commingled vehicles, managing $16.3 billion for pension plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and Taft-Hartley plans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Fixed Income Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (52591), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sector / Total Return Fixed Income (FSAAAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fixed Income Mutual Funds (FSAAAEAB), Multi-Asset Solutions for Institutional (Pensions/Endowments/Sovereigns) (FSAAAJAJ)

Keywords

• Institutional fixed income management
• Active bond management
• Separate account mandates
• Commingled investment vehicles
• Enhanced yield strategies

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees on AUM: NIS earns fees on assets under management across its separate account and commingled vehicle strategies. Traditional strategies target index-similar volatility with outperformance over time. Enhanced yield strategies aim to provide higher yields than traditional investment-grade mandates. The firm grew AUM by 30% since 2023 and manages $16.3 billion as of March 31, 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

National Investment Services actively manages fixed income portfolios for institutional investors across two strategy categories: Traditional Fixed Income Strategies (Short Duration, Intermediate, Intermediate Plus, Core, Core Plus, Socially Responsible Investing, and Liability Driven Investing) and Enhanced Yield Strategies (Dynamic Fixed Income, Total Absolute Return, Preferred Stock, High Yield, and Short Duration High Yield). The firm delivers these strategies through customized separate account mandates (minimum $20MM) and commingled investment vehicles (minimum $5MM, with twice-monthly liquidity), and also serves as sub-advisor for the American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund mutual fund.

Product overview

National Investment Services offers a comprehensive fixed income investment platform organized into two main strategy categories: Traditional Fixed Income Strategies (Short Duration, Intermediate, Intermediate Plus, Core, Core Plus, Socially Responsible Investing, and Liability Driven Investing) designed for consistent performance and downside protection; and Enhanced Yield Strategies (Dynamic Fixed Income, Total Absolute Return, Preferred Stock, High Yield, Short Duration High Yield) offering access to higher yielding products with modest volatility. Traditional strategies are available as separate accounts ($20MM+) and commingled vehicles ($5MM+), while Enhanced Yield strategies are offered exclusively through commingled vehicles. The firm also sub-advises the American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund mutual fund. All commingled vehicles provide twice-monthly liquidity with assets custodied at Comerica Bank and independently audited by Baker Tilly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund: A mutual fund for which National Investment Services serves as sub-advisor, offered through American Beacon Partners.

Products and services

• Short Duration Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg 1-3 Year Govt/Corp Index through active sector allocation and issue selection with upper quartile peer ranking. Delivered as separate accounts ($20MM+ minimum) and commingled vehicles ($5MM+ minimum) for institutional investors.
• Intermediate Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg Intermediate Govt/Credit Index through active management of portfolio components, with the objective of upper quartile peer ranking. Delivered as separate accounts and commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Intermediate Plus Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy with dynamic allocation to high yield (credit, MBS, ABS) sectors, targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg Govt/Credit Index through sector and issue selection. Delivered as separate accounts and commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Core Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg Aggregate Index through issue selection and sector rotation, with the objective of upper quartile peer ranking. Delivered as separate accounts and commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Core Plus Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg Aggregate Index through allocation to U.S. non-investment grade bonds (70%+ in non-investment grade corporate bonds, 5-15% high yield component based on economic backdrop and below investment-grade fundamentals). Delivered as separate accounts and commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Socially Responsible Investing Fixed Income Strategy Active fixed income strategy adhering to USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) socially responsible investing guidelines, targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg Barclays Intermediate Government Credit Index. Delivered for institutional investors seeking SRI-compliant fixed income exposure.
• Liability Driven Investing Strategy Active fixed income strategy focused on projected liability outflows as the benchmark, designed to manage interest rate risk while meeting benefit payment obligations for pension plan and insurance clients.
• Dynamic Fixed Income Strategy Customizable diversified portfolio combining four independently managed components (core fixed income, high yield, absolute return, preferred stock) with low correlation, designed for consistent performance and downside protection. Offered through commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Total Absolute Return Strategy Active fixed income strategy targeting consistent returns with minimal duration risk, aiming for positive returns more than 85% of the time on a monthly basis with volatility equal to or less than a traditional bond fund. Offered through commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Preferred Stock Strategy Active long/short trading strategy investing primarily in $25/par board listed and $1000/par preferred and hybrid securities, exploiting retail-driven market inefficiencies to deliver enhanced yield. Offered through commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• High Yield Strategy Conservative and diversified high yield portfolio seeking high consistent returns with less volatility than typical corporate high yield portfolios, targeting outperformance of the Bloomberg US High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index. Offered through commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• Short Duration High Yield Strategy Short duration high yield strategy providing higher current income than investment grade short duration products, seeking to outperform the ICE BofAML 1-5 Year BB US Cash Pay High Yield Constrained Index with lower volatility. Offered through commingled vehicles for institutional investors.
• American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund Mutual fund version of the Core Plus strategy, sub-advised by NIS and distributed through American Beacon Partners' fund platform (American Beacon Advisors, Inc.). Available to investors via American Beacon's distribution channels.
• CIT Vehicles (Collective Investment Trusts) Collective Investment Trust vehicles that expand the firm's vehicle offerings for institutional investors, providing an additional commingled investment structure alongside separate accounts and existing commingled vehicles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Target: outperform Bloomberg 1-3 Year Govt/Corp Index and rank in upper quartile of peers for Short Duration strategies.
• +5 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Beacon Partners (formerly Resolute Investment Managers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019At the close of 2019, NIS partnered with Resolute Investment Managers (now American Beacon Partners, Irving, Texas) to solidify long-term employee ownership, expand growth potential, and accelerate product development. The partnership ensures employee ownership continues while NIS leverages American Beacon's size, scale, services, and distribution capabilities. American Beacon Partners manages $87.5 Billion AUM and collaborates with over 30 affiliated and independent managers. Resolute rebranded as American Beacon Partners in September 2025.
• Comerica BankminorOthersComerica Bank serves as custodian of assets for NIS commingled vehicles. The custodian relationship is standard for institutional asset management operations.
• Baker TillyminorOthersBaker Tilly provides independent audit services for all NIS commingled vehicles.
• American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (American Beacon Funds)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerNIS serves as sub-advisor for the American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund. American Beacon is a registered service mark of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. American Beacon Funds and the American Beacon NIS Core Plus Bond Fund are service marks of American Beacon Advisors, Inc.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TCW Group: TCW is a US-based active fixed income and equity manager serving institutional and intermediary clients with core, core plus, high yield, and absolute return strategies. Closely comparable in institutional fixed income product breadth.
• Brandywine Global Investment Management: Brandywine Global is a Franklin Templeton-affiliated active fixed income manager offering global multi-sector strategies to institutional clients. Comparable product breadth across core plus and global fixed income mandates.
• GW&K Investment Management: GW&K is a Boston-based boutique fixed income and equity manager serving institutional clients. Comparable in boutique scale, employee ownership characteristics, and active fixed income (including core plus and municipal) mandate focus.
• Loomis Sayles: Loomis Sayles is a Natixis Investment Managers-owned active fixed income specialist managing traditional and enhanced yield strategies for institutional clients. Highly comparable to NIS in product mix (core, core plus, high yield, absolute return) and institutional GTM motion.
• Income Research + Management: IR+M is a Boston-based fixed income specialist serving pension, endowment, and foundation clients with active sector rotation and duration management. Closely comparable in size band, client base, and active fixed income philosophy.
• DoubleLine Capital: DoubleLine is an employee-owned active fixed income boutique founded by Jeffrey Gundlach. Similar to NIS in boutique scale, employee-ownership culture, multi-sector fixed income strategies, and institutional separate account focus.

Broad incumbents

• BlackRock: BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager and dominates the fixed income ETF category (AGG, BND). A broad incumbent that pressures active fixed income boutiques like NIS on fees and passive substitution.
• Nuveen (TIAA): Nuveen is the investment arm of TIAA and a major institutional fixed income and municipal bond manager. Overlaps with NIS on core, core plus, and municipal fixed income mandates for pension and endowment clients.
• Western Asset Management: Western Asset (Franklin Templeton subsidiary) is one of the largest active fixed income managers globally. Overlaps directly with NIS across traditional and core plus mandates but operates at much greater scale and with global distribution.
• PIMCO: PIMCO is the world's largest active fixed income manager with multi-trillion-dollar AUM. A broad incumbent that competes with NIS across institutional fixed income mandates and sets industry fee/performance benchmarks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-investment-services-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Investment Services