Portfolio

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States of New York, a unit of AXA Financial of New York, is in the process of developing the Equitable Premier Funds, a family of ten open-end, mutual funds.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. has begun offering investors the ability to open new accounts online in a paperless transaction that collects investors' consent through electronic signatures, the company has announced.

New York Life Investment Management of Parsippany, N.J. has filed a registration statement with the SEC for its NYLIM Exchange-Traded Fund.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer its Admiral share class, a discounted share class available to some investors, on 13 of its bond funds, the company has announced.

American Skandia Life Assurance Corporation of Shelton, Conn. has added three index portfolios and eight sector portfolios to its fund offerings, according to the company.

The Willamette Funds of Portland, Ore., is planning to introduce a new fund that will invest in companies that have received venture capital financing, according to a preliminary prospectus filed Jan. 19 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A significant number of investors in retirement are planning to increase their contributions to their 401(k) plans and become more aggressive in their allocations in 2001, according to a recent survey by Fidelity Investments of Boston.

New York Life Investment Management of Parsippany, N.J. has announced the launch of the Eclipse Funds, a fund family made up of 18 no-load funds to be distributed through fee-based financial planners and wrap programs.

Nuveen Investments of Chicago plans to introduce the first exchange-traded funds to track U.S. Treasury indexes, according to the company. The five new funds, called Fixed Income Trust Receipts, will be based on indexes of one, two, five and 10-year treasury issues and 20-year STRIPs - separately-traded registered interest and principal securities, Nuveen said.

State Farm Insurance of Bloomington, Ill. has announced that it has begun offering 10 State Farm mutual funds in North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri and Kansas. State Farm Insurance plans to offer the mutual funds to customers throughout the United States by March, according to the company.