DST Systems unit ALPS Holdings buys Colorado-based money manager Red Rocks Capital

ALPS Holdings, a money management company owned by Kansas City-based DST Systems, has paid $65 million to buy a manager of alternative investments.

ALPS Holdings agreed to acquire Red Rocks Capital LLC, based in Golden, Colo.

Red Rocks manages $1.8 billion in mutual funds, separately managed accounts and other investment vehicles. It has managed the ALPS | Red Rocks Listed Private Equity Fund since it opened to investors in 2007. The mutual fund holds private equity investments that are listed on exchanges.

“The acquisition expands DST’s ALPS business, which has been a fast growth unit of the company’s financial services segment,” David Koning, an analyst at Baird Equity Research, said in a report to clients.

But Koning said that “given the nature of the Red Rocks business,” he could not forecast the effect it would have on DST’s revenues or earnings.

“As part of ALPS and the DST Enterprise, we’ll be in far greater position to expand the breadth and reach of Red Rocks’ offerings,” Red Rocks co-founder Adam Goldman said in an announcement of the deal.

The company also created the Red Rocks Global Listed Private Equity Index, which tracks the performance of private equity firms that trade publicly.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "DST Systems unit ALPS Holdings buys Colorado-based money manager Red Rocks Capital."