Industry

Thomas H. Bailey, CEO and founder of Janus Capitol of Denver, sold half his stake in Janus to the company's parent, Stilwell Financial of Kansas City, Mo., for an undisclosed amount, Stilwell has announced.

The Hartford Financial Services Group of Simsbury, Conn. has agreed to purchase Fortis Financial Group, the variable life insurance, mutual fund and annuity arm of Fortis of Woodbury, Minn., for $1.12 billion in cash, Fortis has announced.

Strong Capital Management of Menomonee Falls, Wis., the investment firm which manages the Strong family of funds and over $42 billion in assets, has announced it will exercise its option to acquire Strong Schafer Capital Management, the alliance between Strong and Schafer Capital Management.

Phoenix Investment Partners of Hartford, Conn. has announced it will acquire a 75 percent stake in Walnut Asset Management, a private asset management firm, and its sister company, Rutherford, Brown & Catherwood, a registered broker-dealer, in a cash transaction of an undisclosed amount.

Management partnerships between broker/dealers and fund managers are part of a trend that is spawning new funds that are being sold through competing broker/dealers, according to industry analysts and executives.

Old Mutual of London has announced the formation of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US), an aligned group of six asset management firms which were affiliates of United Asset Management when it was acquired by Old Mutual in September.

Phoenix Engemann Funds of Pasadena, Calif. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge the Phoenix-Engemann Small Cap Fund, a series of Phoenix Strategic Equity Series Funds of Greenfield, Mass., with the Phoenix-Engemann Small & Mid-Cap Growth Fund, a series of the Phoenix-Engemann Funds.

The trustees of the four Cappiello-Rushmore Funds, saying that they could not find a suitable buyer for their floundering funds, have asked shareholders to approve liquidating all the funds in the $28 million Cappiello-Rushmore Trust complex.

Prudential Funds of Newark, N.J. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge its Prudential Government Securities Trust into the Prudential Government Income Fund.

Prudential Funds of Newark, N.J. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Washington D.C. seeking to merge its Prudential Government Securities Trust into the Prudential Government Income Fund.