GOTHAM IN HOUSTON.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Lartigue has moved down the hail to a roomy suite from an original office about as big as a walk-in closet. But he will soon leave the fourth floor where he got his start as a civil engineer-turned-stock analyst in 1984.

"We just gutted the whole eighth floor of this building, and we're moving up there because we don't have enough room," Lartigue says.

"We're growing so fast," he elaborates. "We're adding analysis, adding portfolio managers. We're expanding the product offering, starting new funds."

Thanks to Chase's ongoing push to steer investment oversight to Houston, the $230 billion sum managed by Lartigue is roughly 20 percent higher than total assets under management at Amvescap PLC subsidiary AIM. Founded in Houston in 1976 before its industry …