Portfolio

If there is a stock index to track, chances are good that there is an exchange-traded fund based on that index. So far, however, there is not an exchange-traded fund that tracks a socially-responsible index of stocks. But, that may soon change, according to industry analysts and executives.

ProFunds of Bethesda, Md., which plans to introduce a line of six new exchange-traded funds, five of which will track the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, does not have the right to do so, according to Bill Jordan, a spokesperson for McGraw-Hill Companies of New York, Standard & Poor's parent company.

Barclays Global Investors of San Francisco is adding 10 new exchange-traded funds to its line up of iShares exchange-traded funds, according to a preliminary prospectus filed late last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Two investment advisers with websites that facilitate online community investing have disclosed plans to introduce mutual funds that will be run by individual investors, not veteran fund managers.

The financial world may have to wait a little for the first actively-managed, exchange-traded fund, at least for the kind that leading exchange-traded fund sponsors are trying to develop.

In an effort to improve online interaction with consumers, the website of Pioneer Investment Management of Boston is offering "Financial CyberGuides" which, much like real advisors, listen and respond to investors' questions.

SSB Citi Asset Management Group of New York has introduced its first-ever family of no-load index funds. The family is comprised of 11 index funds. Two other index funds, pegged to the FORTUNE 500 and FORTUNE e-50 stock indexes - the Citi FORTUNE 500 Index Fund and the Citi FORTUNE e-50 Index Fund - are expected to be offered to investors beginning Nov. 27.

Federated Investors of Pittsburgh is collaborating with Native American asset managers to create the first fund family for Native Americans. The first fund will be called 4 Winds Treasury Money Market Fund. The family's aim will be to get a large proportion of the money invested by the 500 tribes in the U.S., a figure calculated to be a total of $15 billion.

new york - Despite their growing popularity, exchange traded funds face substantial obstacles to continued growth, according to industry executives. Foremost among those obstacles are the heavy concentration of assets in a few products and the narrowness of their appeal, the lack of understanding of the products, the need for education and the high cost of entry into the market, according to executives who spoke at a conference on closed-end funds here last week sponsored by IBC USA Conferences of Westborough, Mass.

Ever more mutual fund companies are offering managed, customized accounts for individual investors, according to a recently published report by Cerulli Associates of Boston.