Smith Graham & Company Investment Advisors of Houston has acquired the fixed-income and small- and mid-cap value equity assets of Ark Asset Management Company of New York, reportedly doubling Smith Graham’s assets under management to nearly $6 billion and more than doubling the firm’s number of investment professionals.

Smith Graham said that approximately 90% of Ark’s clients have consented to transferring their assets to the company.

Cyril Theccanat will now assume the office of president and chief investment officer, and will oversee all investment operations within the Houston base as well as the new Manhattan office. Most recently, he served as Smith Graham’s chief investment officer and was responsible for the management and oversight of the investment team.

Gerald Smith, chairman and CEO of Smith Graham, said: We will integrate Ark’s fixed-income investment team into Smith Graham’s, combining talent and breadth of experience hard to match in the industry. Ark’s team has an excellent track record in managing stable-value, intermediate and broad market portfolios, which will help expand our offerings across the yield curve.