Boston Co. Asset Management lays off 90

The Boston Company Asset Management said it is laying off 90 people, nearly 30 percent of its staff, because of last year's stock market plunge.

The investment group, part of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp., at the end of September managed $36 billion in Dreyfus mutual funds and for large investment clients. The Boston Co. group said it was eliminating investment staff in New York and Denver and moving several positions to Boston. As a result, the net job loss in the Boston office is about 64.

In a statement, the company said its assets under management have dropped 47 percent over the past year. That was slightly better than the markets in which it invested, which have dropped 48 percent to 56 percent, the company said. Still, the precipitous declines will mean lower revenues and profits going forward. Firms along Wall Street and in Boston, including Fidelity Investments and State Street Corp., have announced thousands of layoffs over the past few months.

The Boston Co. said the cuts would affect ''trading, quantitative and core research functions." It said it has "taken decisive action to deal with the impact of unprecedented actions in the capital markets and their effects on the economy over the past several months."

The firm added that most of its clients would not be affected by the changes.
(By Beth Healy, Globe staff)