Portfolio

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates of Wayne, Pa. will begin offering separate accounts in an effort to attract high-net-worth investors, according to Tom Florence, a senior vice president and director of the firm.

The money management arm of Waddell & Reed Financial of Overland Park, Kan. is planning to offer a tax-managed fund.

Charles Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource hit a milestone late last month when the assets of its mutual fund marketplace reached the $100 billion mark. Approximately $30 billion of new money was invested during 1999, translating into a 47 percent increase in assets for the year.

Neuberger Berman of New York registered with the SEC last week to add a new technology growth fund that will be launched in May, according to Jennifer Silver, the company's managing director. The new fund will be managed by a team of portfolio managers led by Silver, according to Neuberger.

The number of employees switching asset allocations in their 401(k) programs increased in the month of January, according to an index released by Hewitt Associates of Chicago that measures the daily activity of 401(k) assets of 1.5 million employees.

John Hancock Funds of Boston, has teamed up with Standard & Poor's of New York to provide retirement services to more than 1,000 companies nationwide.

Pure-play, or sector funds, are beginning to show up along with the usual investment options of 401(k) plans: large-, small- and mid-cap, growth and value investments, according to industry executives.

The average account balance for active 401(k) participants grew by 26 percent from 1996 to 1998, largely due to the continuing bull market in equities, according to a recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute, both of Washington, D.C.

Intuit of Mountain View, Calif. and TeamVest of Charlotte, N.C. have joined together to offer free online investment advice for 401(k) plan participants.

The adviser to the Value Trend Links Fund is preparing to expand its fund lineup.