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Bexil Corp. of New York, the fixed-income closed-end fund, is asking shareholders to allow the fund to make a change in its investment style. The fund wants to change its investment objective so that it can invest as much as 50 percent of its assets in the equities of growth companies, according to a proxy statement the fund filed with the SEC Nov. 15. The fund currently must invest at least 65 percent of its assets in U.S. government securities.

An unusual fight pitting two groups of fund directors against each other is providing the SEC with its first public test of the agency's campaign to strengthen the role of independent fund directors.

Legislation aimed at establishing uniform federal law for electronic commerce and electronic signatures and addressing some concerns of the mutual fund industry, has advanced in Congress.

Olin is campaigning for a proxy vote that would fire Alliance Capital Management of New York as advisor to the Austria Fund, according to an SEC filing.

Alliance Capital Management LP of New York is tapping two of its hot fund managers to run a new fund. Alliance plans to offer its second value fund, the Alliance Disciplined Value Fund, according to a registration statement the fund filed with the SEC Nov. 3. The fund will be a so-called "deep value" fund, investing in the securities of companies that portfolio managers Paul Rissman and Frank Caruso believe are undervalued. Rissman and Caruso manage the Alliance Growth & Income Fund, which has four stars from Morningstar, the Chicago fund-rating firm.

Charles Schwab Corporation of San Francisco has introduced a mutual fund for people who want to donate to charitable organizations, joining a relatively small number of fund companies offering similar products.

IJL Wachovia of Winston-Salem, N.C. recently established the Wachovia Investment Fund, a portfolio managed by undergraduates at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. IJL Wachovia provides $50,000 for students to invest, along with substantial institutional support.

The Saudi Arabian government's recent decision to allow foreigners to invest in the Saudi stock market through mutual funds probably will not have a lot of U.S. fund companies jumping at the chance to do business there, some industry analysts said.

Investors who use investment strategies that center on dollar-cost-averaging or asset allocation may be able to reap greater returns with a variable annuity than they can with mutual funds, according to a study released last month by the National Association for Variable Annuities.

When the going gets tough, fund advisers get creative.

NEW YORK - Exchange-traded funds, funds that invest a majority of their portfolios in a variety of stock market indexes, pose a serious challenge to closed-end equity funds, according to some industry analysts.

The fact that retail funds may be sold in variable annuity sub-accounts in the form of funds of funds, has prompted some insurers to seek to include retail funds in other annuities.

CHICAGO - The annuity industry is expecting to receive a formal statement soon from the Internal Revenue Service as to whether partial 1035 exchanges are allowable.

Broker/dealers will be able to have their representatives collect asset-based fees rather than commissions without facing added regulation under a rule proposed by the SEC. If adopted, the new rule will allow registered reps to offer wrap accounts and some other products for which they receive a fee based on assets under management, without being subject to the Investment Advisers Act, the SEC said in a statement.

In the past two years, wirehouses like Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley and PaineWebber have introduced mutual funds that invest in stocks that are recommended by their firms' equity analysts.

TORONTO - Mackenzie Financial, the largest Canadian fund company selling through independent brokers and dealers, has launched a low-fee class of units aimed at stemming defections by its richest customers.

Pimco Advisors, LP of Newport Beach, Calif. has agreed to sell one of its subsidiaries, Columbus Circle Trust Co. of Stamford, Conn., to Orbitex Financial Services Group. Terms of the deal, announced Nov. 2, were not disclosed.

BOSTON - The SEC's fact-finding examinations of the securities execution practices of mutual funds are unlikely to result in a public report, said Edward A. Ryan, Jr., assistant district administrator for regulation in the SEC's Boston office. It is unclear how the SEC will use the data gathered from the exams, he said. The SEC could issue a statement discussing execution practices or it could propose a rule, he said.

An institutional real estate investment advisor is planning to offer a new real estate-oriented mutual fund.

The Warburg Pincus Funds early next year will add a large company growth fund and merge two similar funds, according to SEC filings and a company spokesperson.