Portfolio

Hoping to capture a piece of the $192 billion commercial bank sweep market, the year-old partnership of American Century Investments and J. P. Morgan has introduced a same-day bank sweep program.

Federated Investors, a leading investment management firm that manages about $103 billion in assets in more than 150 mutual funds, is opening a new bond fund. The Federated Ultrashort Bond Fund will seek higher yields than money market funds. It will invest in a variety of short-duration debt securities, government bonds and mortgage- and asset-backed bonds. The fund's initial net asset value will be $2 per share.

Fidelity is planning to introduce telephone response units that will allow investors in 401(k) and 403(b) plans to make investment changes by speaking into their phones. The company plans to start the service in early 1999 and have it available for all 401(k) and 403(b) plans by the end of the year.

Lord, Abbett & Company has introduced a new mutual fund. The Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund will invest primarily in mid-sized companies with market capitalizations of $1 billion to $6 billion, with histories of strong earnings and revenue growth as well as experienced management teams.

Fidelity announced the opening of Fidelity Tax Managed Stock Fund, which will seek long term growth while attempting to reduce the impact of federal taxes on shareholders' returns.

A low-cost brokerage and advisory firm from Dallas is poised to reap the benefits of the investment philosophy of Harry S. Dent who has won notoriety with his notion that baby boomers will lead the greatest economic expansion in U.S. history and drive the economy through the next decade.

Imagine this: A dissatisfied technology worker at a mutual fund complex computer network hacks into the company website, disabling it for hours or even an entire day. Investors who rely on the Internet to make transactions and get information about their accounts will be frustrated and furious, overloading the customer service phone lines. Money and loyalty will be lost; investors will take their invested assets elsewhere.

American Century Investments is adding a new fund, Twentieth Century Global Growth, to its group of international funds as of Dec.1. The fund will seek long-term capital by investing in both foreign and domestic companies, primarily in developed markets. Its benchmark will be the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Free Index.

The Internet brokerage E*Trade has launched its own mutual fund family and in the process has created what may be the first mutual fund to offer so-called electronic shares.

Federated Investors last week became the latest fund adviser to introduce a stable value fund, a move which comes as investors increasingly are looking for the stability of money market fund- style investments.