Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co. said it plans to acquire certain assets of Guidance Capital LLC, a hedge fund management firm, in a deal expected to be completed this quarter.

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Guidance Capital, founded in 2001 with offices in Chicago and Delaware,  manages “hedge fund of funds,” basically the industry’s version of a mutual fund that invests in individual hedge funds.

Guidance investment professionals in Chicago will move to William Blair’s  headquarters, and  William Blair will keep Guidance’s Delaware office.

“We look forward to joining an investment firm with a distinguished history,” said Brian Ziv, a Guidance principal and founder. Before  forming Guidance,  the Princeton graduate was chief investment officer of Graystone Wealth Management Services, a Morgan Stanley unit.

With more than $44 billion in assets,  William Blair’s investment management arm handles portfolios for international, domestic, and global equities, and U.S. fixed income products.

byerak@tribune.com