MaxFunds.com of Ann Arbor, Mich., a website that tracks small and new mutual funds, has launched 12 portfolios of securities that will be managed by investment professionals whose investment decisions will be available to consumers for a $2 monthly fee, said Jim Atkinson, president of MaxFunds.com.
The portfolios will be assembled and managed by MaxFunds.com and outside third parties and any changes a manager makes in the portfolio will be relayed via e-mail to investors in that particular portfolio, Atkinson said.
Individually-held portfolios of stock are superior to mutual funds in many respects, but the products will not undermine the fund industry in the near future, Atkinson said.
"It will, I believe, take away business at the margins from the mutual fund industry and for some investors it is clearly a superior product and will make an impact," he said.
The first 12 portfolios will include 15 to 20 securities and will have different investment focuses and portfolio managers. Two of the funds, the George W. Bush and Al Gore funds, are each made up of 20 public companies that have contributed the most money to either candidates' campaign.
