Portfolio

Aegon USA/Transamerica of Los Angeles has formed a new investment management company, principally to give equity interest in the new company to the portfolio managers and other key executives formerly with Transamerica Investment Services, said Richard Latzer, chief executive officer of the new investment advisor, Transamerica Investment Management.

In the bull market, investors have stampeded to aggressive mutual funds. But will investors flock to bearish mutual funds with the same enthusiasm if the markets face a sustained bear market? That is a bet some fund advisers are taking - with mixed results.

NEW YORK - Online investment calculators and research on the Internet are augmenting rather than threatening the livelihood of financial advisors, according to a survey by the Forum for Investor Advice of New York.

Despite an average 14 percent decline in performance among science, technology and telecommunications funds during April, fund companies continue to introduce technology funds. The average mutual fund declined 3.3 percent in value during April.

Oppenheimer will offer a long-term capital-appreciation mutual fund to invest in U.S. and foreign emerging technology companies with significant growth potential, according to an April 25 filing with the SEC. Oppenheimer Emerging Technologies Fund will focus on companies involved in bandwidth, technologically advanced data transmission, telecommunications, and wireless and satellite communications.

The world of exchange-traded funds - so far dominated by two of the money management industry's largest players - is about to get an unconventional competitor.

On May 1, Calvert Group of Bethesda, Md. was to introduce its flagship Calvert Social Index which includes predominantly large-cap companies that have passed social screens Calvert employs under its socially-responsible investment mandate. Although Calvert has been one of the pioneers of socially-responsible investments, this is the first social index Calvert has created.

Hussman Investment Trust of Cincinnati, Ohio, filed a prospectus with the SEC April 21 to offer the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund.

Venus Capital Management of Boston last week filed with the SEC to introduce a new fund, The India Technology Fund.

Although assets in socially-responsible funds have grown from $1.185 trillion in 1997 to $2.16 trillion in 1999, socially-screened funds are under-represented in 401(k) plans, said mutual fund industry executives.