In March, Stockback and JP Morgan Chase launched the credit card, which allowed consumers to earn 1% cash back on all purchases, which they have the option of keeping or investing in a fund. At that time, the two companies had selected the Stockback Fund, a Merrill Lynch-managed mutual fund created specifically for the credit card users. But three days after the announcement of the new card, Stockback filed a preliminary proxy statement with the
Stockback sought to liquidate the fund because it wanted to find a fund with lower expenses, Gerri Gussin, a spokeswoman for Stockback, said at the time. Stockback Advisers of New York, the fund's investment adviser, could not afford to cover the fund's expenses under the current administrative agreement. Also, the fund had not gained the assets that were expected and simply had not reached a level at which it can stay afloat, according to the SEC filing.
Now that Stockback has selected the Merrill Lynch S&P 500 Index Fund as investment option, Stockback Fund shareholders will receive the value of their fund shares that they can reinvest in the S&P 500 fund.
"Were excited to offer cardmembers the option to invest their rewards in the Merrill Lynch S&P 500 Index Fund," said Robert Feidelson, CEO of Stockback. "Merrill Lynch is a name that people know and trust, and S&P 500 Index Funds are widely held and well known to mutual fund investors."
