Portfolio

Nuveen Investments of Chicago and Epoch Partners, an investment banking firm in San Francisco, announced plans last week to introduce two more exchange-traded funds. Nuveen also announced that it is developing an actively-managed exchange-traded fund. Nuveen does not yet know whether it will introduce a single actively-managed exchange-traded fund or several of them, said Laurel O'Brien, a spokesperson for Nuveen.

TD Waterhouse Group of New York has introduced seven new proprietary funds, the company announced. The funds have no transaction fees and the minimum initial investment is $1,000, the company said. For subsequent investments, the minimum is $100.The funds cover various market sectors and asset classes.

AIM Management Group of Houston, Texas has announced that it has formed AIM Private Asset Management, a new subsidiary that will market customized portfolios to high-net-worth and institutional clients.

The Orbitex Group of Funds of New York last week introduced the Orbitex Life Sciences & Biotechnology Fund. Orbitex' first interval fund will invest in small- to mid-sized companies in the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, medical research and biotechnology research, development and implementation, the company said.

MaxFunds.com of Ann Arbor, Mich., a website that tracks small and new mutual funds, has launched 12 portfolios of securities that will be managed by investment professionals whose investment decisions will be available to consumers for a $2 monthly fee, said Jim Atkinson, president of MaxFunds.com.

Of the ten new streetTRACKS exchange-traded funds introduced this month, one in particular has caught the fund industry's attention for its ground-breaking nature.

Online banking will soon no longer be the only means of paying bills over the Internet. At least two mutual fund companies are now building the capabilities to allow investors to pay bills online from their money market fund accounts.

Fidelity Investments of Boston and American Century of Kansas City, Mo. both announced last week that in light of the Electronic Signatures Act taking effect on Oct. 1, they would accept new applications online, without handwritten signatures of any kind. Neither firm is requiring signatures, either at the time of an account opening or later, on hard copies via fax or the mail.

Mutual fund firms are considering offering hedge funds and related products in order to prevent portfolio managers from leaving to work for existing hedge funds, said industry executives.

NEW YORK - While exchange-traded funds are expected to grow rapidly in the near future, their growth will be hampered by numerous obstacles.