Industry

Centurion Funds of Phoenix, Ariz. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to do a one-for-three reverse split in its Centurion U.S. Contra Fund.

Overseas buyers of U.S. asset managers have pushed the number and prices of mergers and acquisitions to record levels this year.

Legg Mason of Baltimore has announced it will acquire 100 percent of the privately-held stock of Barrett Associates of New York for an undisclosed amount over the next five years. Nine of Barrett's principals, as well as John D. Barrett, II, the firm's chairman and CEO, will stay on under long-term agreements each has signed, Legg Mason said in a statement.

Kemper Funds of Chicago has filed a proxy with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge three of its funds with the Kemper Total Return Fund as part of the firm's initiative to change its name in 2001 to Zurich Scudder Investments.

Banque Arjil et Cie of Paris will sell its entire stake of ABF Capital Management to the asset management firm's founding partners and Credit Lyonnais Asset Management, both of Paris, the companies announced.

First Union of Charlotte, N.C. combined its institutional investment group, First Capital Group, with Evergreen Investments, also of Charlotte, and changed its name to Evergreen Institutional Asset Management Dec. 1. The action combined the retail mutual fund and institutional asset management divisions of First Union under a single name, according to Chad Peterson, spokesperson for Evergreen Institutional Asset Management.

Pilgrim Mutual Funds of Scottsdale, Ariz. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge its Pilgrim Global Income Fund into the Pilgrim Strategic Income Fund.

Talvest Fund Management of Montreal has announced that it has combined four equity funds into a single new fund, the Talvest Cdn. Multi Management Fund.

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates of Wayne, Pa., a subsidiary of United Asset Management Corp. of Boston, has filed a proxy with the SEC seeking to merge its PBHG International Fund into the PBHG Global Technology and Communications Fund. The consolidation is pending shareholder approval.

Alliance Capital Management of New York has announced that the stockholders of the ACM Government Income Fund, with over $474 million in assets under management, have approved the acquisition of three other Alliance closed-end bond funds - the ACM Government Securities Fund, the ACM Government Spectrum Fund, and the ACM Government Opportunity Fund, which have combines assets under management of over $955 million.