What Royce Investment Partners does

Royce Investment Partners is a U.S.-based investment management firm founded in 1972 by Chuck Royce, focused exclusively on small-cap and micro-cap equities. The firm operates as Royce & Associates, LP, a Delaware limited partnership headquartered at One Madison Avenue, New York, and has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (Franklin Templeton) since 2023. As a self-described "Small-Cap Specialist," Royce conducts deep-dive fundamental equity research and integrates ESG assessment using the SASB materiality framework alongside MSCI ESG Ratings, targeting the under-researched small- and micro-cap universe where limited sell-side coverage creates informational asymmetry.

The firm distributes its investment strategies through a comprehensive vehicle lineup: ten open-end mutual funds spanning micro-cap to SMid-cap and including both domestic and international mandates; three NYSE-listed closed-end funds (Royce Small-Cap Trust, Royce Micro-Cap Trust, Royce Global Trust); a sub-advised exchange-traded fund (Royce Quant Small-Cap Quality Value ETF); two separately managed accounts; three collective investment trusts; and two variable annuity portfolios. Headcount is reported at 101–250 employees, including 40+ investment professionals organized into portfolio management (16), research (6), trading (8), and client service (8) groups, complemented by senior leadership under a Co-CIO model (Chris Clark and Francis Gannon).

Revenue is generated primarily through investment advisory and management fees charged on assets under management across these vehicles, with disclosed net operating expense ratios in the 1.02%–1.24% range and gross expense ratios of approximately 1.26%. Customer segments include institutional investors (endowments, foundations, pension funds, family offices), registered investment advisors and financial advisors, and high-net-worth individuals accessing funds directly or through advisor channels. The firm employs a hybrid go-to-market: a dedicated institutional client service team and consultant relations function for enterprise distribution, channel sales through financial advisors for mid-market, and direct-to-consumer self-service via the corporate website and shareholder access portals for individual investors.

Name

Royce Investment Partners

Legal name

Royce & Associates, LP

Website

https://royceinvest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Royce Investment Partners is a New York–based investment management firm specializing in small-cap and micro-cap equities since 1972, serving institutional investors, financial advisors, and individual investors through mutual funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, SMAs, and CITs as a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small-Cap Equity Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (52591), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Cap Equity Long/Short (FSAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Small-cap equity management
• Micro-cap investment funds
• Mutual fund management
• Closed-end fund management
• Institutional asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory and Management Fees: Royce & Associates, LP, as the investment adviser to The Royce Funds, earns investment advisory and management fees based on assets under management across its open-end funds, closed-end funds, collective investment trusts, and separately managed accounts. Fee structures vary by vehicle, with gross operating expenses and net annual operating expenses disclosed in fund prospectuses. The firm is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (Franklin Templeton).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Royce Investment Partners manages small-cap and micro-cap equity portfolios through a diversified lineup of investment vehicles, including more than 10 open-end mutual funds, 3 NYSE-listed closed-end funds (RGT, RMT, RVT), 2 separately managed accounts, 3 collective investment trusts, 1 sub-advised ETF, and 2 annuity portfolios. Investment advisory and management fees on these AUM-based vehicles are the firm's revenue source.

Product overview

Royce Investment Partners is a small-cap investment management firm offering a comprehensive suite of investment vehicles managed with intensive fundamental research. The product lineup spans multiple fund structures including open-end mutual funds (10 funds covering micro-cap through SMid-cap, both domestic and international), closed-end funds (3 funds trading on NYSE including Global, Micro-Cap, and Small-Cap Trust), exchange traded funds (1 sub-advised ETF), separately managed accounts (2 SMAs), collective investment trusts (3 CITs for institutional investors), and annuity portfolios (2 capital fund options). The funds employ various strategies including quality-value, opportunity/growth, special equity, and quantitative approaches. Royce operates as a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton and has been a small-cap specialist since 1972.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RYOTX) An open-end mutual fund that invests primarily in micro-cap companies (those with market caps no higher than the largest company in the Russell Microcap Index), seeking long-term capital growth through intensive fundamental research. The fund is targeted at investors seeking dedicated micro-cap exposure.
• Royce Small-Cap Fund (PENNX) An open-end mutual fund focused on small-cap equities (companies with market capitalizations generally between $500 million and $2.5 billion), seeking long-term capital growth.
• Royce Premier Fund (RYPRX) An open-end fund investing in a focused portfolio of small-cap stocks with what the firm identifies as premier characteristics, including high returns on capital and sustainable competitive advantages.
• Royce Small-Cap Opportunity Fund (RYPNX) An open-end fund using an opportunistic approach to invest in small-cap companies across themes including turnarounds, unrecognized asset values, undervalued growth, and interrupted earnings.
• Royce Small-Cap Total Return Fund (RYTRX) An open-end fund using a quality-value investment strategy focused on small-cap companies with above-average profitability and lower than average leverage. Net operating expenses 1.23%.
• Royce Small-Cap Value Fund (RVVHX) An open-end fund focused on small-cap value stocks, seeking capital appreciation through investment in undervalued small-cap companies.
• Royce Small-Cap Special Equity Fund (RYSEX) An open-end fund seeking long-term capital growth through investment in small-cap companies with special equity characteristics.
• Royce Smaller-Companies Growth Fund (RVPHX) An open-end fund focused on smaller-companies with robust growth potential driven by sustainable competitive advantages and secular growth themes. Operating expenses capped at 1.02% through April 30, 2027 under a contractual waiver.
• Royce SMid-Cap Total Return Fund (RDVIX) An open-end fund focused on small-to-mid-cap companies using a quality-value strategy for total return investment.
• Royce International Premier Fund (RIPNX) An open-end fund investing in international equities using a quality-focused approach similar to the premier strategy but for non-U.S. small-cap companies.
• Royce Global Trust (RGT/XRGTX) A closed-end fund trading on the NYSE that invests in global equities using a disciplined value approach, emphasizing small-cap and mid-cap companies across multiple countries (U.S., Europe, Israel, Canada, South Africa, Australia). Net assets $113.1M as of May 31, 2026.
• Royce Micro-Cap Trust (RMT/XOTCX) A closed-end fund trading on the NYSE that invests primarily in micro-cap companies with market capitalization of $1 billion or less, seeking long-term capital growth. Net assets $847.4M; one-year total return 70.80% (NAV) / 73.35% (market) as of May 31, 2026.
• Royce Small-Cap Trust (RVT/XRVTX) The oldest and largest small-cap closed-end fund, trading on the NYSE and investing at least 65% of assets in equity securities of small- and micro-cap companies. Net assets $2.50B as of May 31, 2026; 10-year annualized return 12.64% (NAV) / 13.61% (market).
• Royce Quant Small-Cap Quality Value ETF (SQLV) A Royce sub-advised exchange-traded fund using a quantitative strategy for small-cap quality value investment. ESG assessment is not used as an input to investment processes for this ETF.
• Small-Cap Premier Quality SMA A separately managed account offering exposure to Royce's premier quality small-cap strategy with focused portfolio management. Marketed primarily to high-net-worth and institutional investors.
• Small-Cap Quality Value SMA A separately managed account offering the Royce small-cap total-return quality-value strategy with customized portfolio management.
• Royce Small-Cap CIT A collective investment trust focused on small-cap equities for institutional investors.
• Royce Small-Cap Opportunity CIT A collective investment trust focused on small-cap opportunity investments for institutional investors.
• Royce Small-Cap Total Return CIT A collective investment trust focused on the small-cap total-return strategy for institutional investors.
• Capital Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCMCX) An annuity portfolio option investing in micro-cap equities as part of variable annuity or similar insurance product structures.
• Capital Small-Cap Portfolio (RCPFX) An annuity portfolio option investing in small-cap equities as part of variable annuity or similar insurance product structures.

Quantifiable outcome

• Royce Micro-Cap Fund returned 68.2% for the 12 months through May 2026, outperforming the Russell Microcap Index; from 4/8/25 through 6/30/26, the fund gained 93.5% vs. Russell Microcap 88.8% and Russell 2000 74.5%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)minorOthersRoyce Fund Services, LLC is a member of FINRA and SIPC. The firm references FINRA's BrokerCheck for researching investment professionals. FINRA provides regulatory oversight and investor protection for broker-dealers and registered investment advisers.
• SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation)minorOthersRoyce Fund Services, LLC is a member of SIPC, which provides protection for customer securities and cash held in brokerage accounts against broker-dealer failure.
• UN PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment)minorOthersRoyce is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and a member of the IFRS Sustainability Alliance, demonstrating commitment to integrating ESG assessment into the investment process.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• T. Rowe Price: Large global asset manager with several established small-cap mutual funds (e.g., T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Stock Fund, T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Small-Cap Growth Fund). Comparable as a multi-vehicle active equity manager serving institutional, RIA, and retail channels, though T. Rowe Price is far larger and more diversified.
• Wellington Management: One of the world's largest private independent investment managers, with extensive small-cap equity capabilities across value, growth, and quantitative strategies. Comparable in product breadth across institutional SMAs and mutual funds, though vastly larger and more diversified.
• ClearBridge Investments: Franklin Templeton-affiliated active equity manager with multiple small-cap and SMID-cap strategies (e.g., ClearBridge Small Cap, ClearBridge Aggressive Growth). Sister company under Franklin Resources; comparable in product overlap and distribution but operates under its own brand.

Direct peers

• Westwood Holdings Group: Small-cap-focused active equity manager with multi-cap and SMid-cap strategies for institutional clients. Highly comparable to Royce in offering style-diversified small-cap products (value, growth, quality) through institutional and intermediary channels, with similar AUM scale.
• Ariel Investments: Independent active small/mid-cap equity manager offering Ariel Fund, Ariel Appreciation Fund, and Ariel Focus Fund. Closely comparable to Royce's value-oriented small-cap mutual funds and institutional SMAs, with similar deep-dive fundamental research emphasis.
• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management: Specialist in small/mid-cap value and high-yield strategies, managing institutional separate accounts and mutual funds. Closely comparable to Royce's quality-value and small-cap value strategies with similarly concentrated fundamental research process.
• Wasatch Advisors: Employee-owned active small-cap specialist running multiple Wasatch Funds (small-cap growth, small-cap value, micro-cap, global small). Highly comparable to Royce in product structure, niche focus on smaller-cap equities, and fundamental bottom-up research approach.
• Perkins Investment Management: Small/mid-cap value specialist managing Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund and Perkins Discovery Fund. Closely comparable to Royce's value-oriented strategies in style, with similarly concentrated portfolios and institutional-quality research.
• Nuance Investments: Small/mid-cap focused boutique manager led by Scott Moore, CFA, offering Nuance Concentrated Value Fund. Highly comparable in scale, style, and fundamental research process, with overlapping institutional and intermediary distribution.
• Granahan Investment Management: Boutique active small-cap manager running Granahan Small Cap Discovery, Granahan Focused, and Granahan Global Small Cap. Comparable to Royce's growth-tilted small-cap and global small-cap strategies with similar concentrated fundamental approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/royceinvestment
• YouTubeyoutube.com/royceinvestmentpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/royceinvest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Royce Investment Partners