Portfolio

Investors in 401(k) plans have more investment options and receive more education about investing for their retirements than they did three years ago, according to the 1999 "Trends and Experience in 401(k) Plans" survey by Hewitt Associates, a management consulting company in Lincolnshire, Ill.

The Electric City Funds of Schenectady, N.Y. is planning a new mutual fund that will invest primarily in a small group of stocks that it will hold long-term, according to an SEC filing.

The Sturgeon Financial Group of Dayton, Ohio is planning to offer a value fund with a technology bent, the first of two funds the firm expects to offer this year.

A growing number of fund companies are establishing alliances with third party 401(k) advisory firms in an effort to meet increasing demands for 401(k) advice.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. is planning to file a registration statement with the SEC for a no-load mutual fund that will track a new socially-responsible index, the company has announced.

The competition for index fund assets will be heating up in the next few months.

Hartford Life Insurance Company of Simsbury, Conn., is looking to the person who helped launch its proprietary mutual fund family to increase sales of the firm's funds and annuities to 401(k) plans.

Investa Management of New York is planning to introduce two new no-load funds. One of them is an index fund that will attempt to beat the returns of the S&P 500 by using a proprietary options strategy, according to an SEC filing.

Merrill Lynch of New York will introduce a gift tax-free family of funds designed for college saving investors, the company announced last week.

A new mutual fund plans to use Internet message boards to obtain information from shareholders on the companies in which it invests, according to an SEC filing.