Portfolio

Faced with growing account balances, 401(k) plan participants are increasingly demanding more help making retirement plan decisions, according to several industry experts.

John Nuveen & Co. has added 10 new equity defined portfolios to its selection of unit investment trusts.

Invesco Funds Group has added two new funds, the Invesco Endeavor Fund and the Invesco International Blue Chip Fund.

Arthur Andersen and insurance broker Frank Crystal & Co. are offering a joint program to reduce risks and costs for fund industry participants.

The National Securities Clearing Corporation is set to begin testing Phase 2 of its Mutual Fund Profile System next month.

College alumni may soon be plumbed as yet another new distribution channel for mutual funds.

A publishing company that specializes in offering advice on how to invest in direct investment plans is getting into the fund business.

Prudential Investments is teaming up with BISYS to provide two new retirement plans for small businesses.

Wells Fargo and MassMutual Retirement Services are teaming up to create a new pension service with online capabilities. The new pension program will include administration, actuarial, trustee and investment management services. It will also offer Internet-based communication and administration services. For example, participants will be able to calculate their projected retirement benefits online. The new service will be available to defined benefit plans with a minimum of $2 million in assets at the beginning of 1999.

Morningstar is introducing investment information and analysis aimed at the retail Japanese mutual fund industry. The new products are being introduced by Morningstar Japan K.K., a collaboration between Morningstar and Softbank Corp., an information and software company based in Tokyo. On October 26, Morningstar Chief Executive Officer Don Phillips will be in Tokyo along with Yoshitaka Kitao, president and chief executive officer of Morningstar Japan, who is also CEO of Softbank, to talk about the new products. Using Morningstar's U.S. operations as a model, Morningstar Japan plans to publish investment research and analysis for Japanese investors and financial professionals. Softbank also has a major stake in the U.S. Internet businesses, Yahoo! Inc. and GeoCities.