Boston No Longer Reigning Mutual Fund Champ

Five years ago, the going was good for several Boston mutual fund companies. Now, in the aftermath of scandals and the bear market, those same companies are losing out to once-obscure names, according to the Boston Globe.

The losers in Boston suffered much more than the winners gained. So much so that Boston is no longer considered the hot spot for mutual fund business. That title has now been taken over by California.

Boston houses only one of the dominant companies in the mutual fund business today: Fidelity Investments. While the fund giant hasn't matched the strong sales experienced by American Funds, its total managed assets have grown 13% to roughly $1.1 trillion in the last five years. Fidelity's stock and bond mutual fund assets have also grown, albeit at a slower rate, to $697 billion.

Among the major losers in Boston, Putnam Investments and MFS Investment Management rank high. Putnam's assets under management dwindled from $391 billion at the start of 2000 to $217 billion by the end of 2004. Its stock and bond mutual fund assets declined from $256 billion in February 2000 to $110 billion in January this year, according to Financial Research Corporation. MFS long-term mutual fund assets went down from $92 billion to $78 billion over the five years.

Meanwhile, lesser known players have emerged victorious in the Boston market. Wellington Management Co., which does not operate as a mutual fund but manages money for institutions and acts as a sub-advisor to mutual fund companies such as the Vanguard Group, has seen assets under management more than double, from $233 billion to $470 billion, in the last five years.

Another winner, Eaton Vance, experienced high asset growth, from $38.9 million in January 2000 to $72.9 billion five years later, thanks to its bond funds and conservative stock investments.

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

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