Organization And Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization And Business [Abstract]

Organization And Business

1. Organization and Business

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (the "Company," "we," "us," "our" or "Virtus"), a Delaware corporation, operates in the investment management industry through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. A subsidiary of the Bank of Montreal ("BMO"), owns 100% of the Company's outstanding shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (the "Series B").

The Company provides investment management and related services to individual and institutional clients throughout the United States of America. Retail investment management services (including administrative services) are provided to individuals through products consisting of open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, variable insurance funds and separately managed accounts. Separately managed accounts are offered to high net-worth individuals and include intermediary programs that are sponsored and distributed by non-affiliated broker-dealers, and individual direct managed account investment services that are sold and administered by the Company. Institutional investment management services and variable insurance funds are provided primarily to corporations, multi-employer retirement funds, public employee retirement systems, foundations and endowments and special purpose funds.

Virtus commenced operations on November 1, 1995 through a reverse merger with Duff & Phelps Corporation. From 1995 to 2001, we were a majority-owned indirect subsidiary of The Phoenix Companies, Inc. ("PNX"). On January 11, 2001, a subsidiary of PNX acquired the outstanding shares of Virtus Partners, Inc. not already owned and the Company became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of PNX. On October 31, 2008, after the sale of convertible preferred stock to BMO, we became an indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of PNX. On December 31, 2008, PNX distributed 100% of Virtus common stock to PNX stockholders in a spin-off transaction.