In a deal to solidify its status as Canada's largest mutual fund company and strengthen its hand against foreign-owned competitors, Investors Group of Winnepeg, Manitoba, has agreed to acquire the fifth-largest firm, Mackenzie Financial of Toronto.

UMB Financial Corporation of Kansas City, Mo. signed a letter of intent last week to acquire Sunstone Financial Group of Milwaukee, Wis. for an undisclosed amount, according to Mim Allison, president and CEO of Sunstone.

Thomas H. Bailey, CEO and founder of Janus Capitol of Denver, sold half his stake in Janus to the company's parent, Stilwell Financial of Kansas City, Mo., for an undisclosed amount, Stilwell has announced.

The Hartford Financial Services Group of Simsbury, Conn. has agreed to purchase Fortis Financial Group, the variable life insurance, mutual fund and annuity arm of Fortis of Woodbury, Minn., for $1.12 billion in cash, Fortis has announced.

Strong Capital Management of Menomonee Falls, Wis., the investment firm which manages the Strong family of funds and over $42 billion in assets, has announced it will exercise its option to acquire Strong Schafer Capital Management, the alliance between Strong and Schafer Capital Management.

Phoenix Investment Partners of Hartford, Conn. has announced it will acquire a 75 percent stake in Walnut Asset Management, a private asset management firm, and its sister company, Rutherford, Brown & Catherwood, a registered broker-dealer, in a cash transaction of an undisclosed amount.

Management partnerships between broker/dealers and fund managers are part of a trend that is spawning new funds that are being sold through competing broker/dealers, according to industry analysts and executives.

Old Mutual of London has announced the formation of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US), an aligned group of six asset management firms which were affiliates of United Asset Management when it was acquired by Old Mutual in September.

Phoenix Engemann Funds of Pasadena, Calif. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge the Phoenix-Engemann Small Cap Fund, a series of Phoenix Strategic Equity Series Funds of Greenfield, Mass., with the Phoenix-Engemann Small & Mid-Cap Growth Fund, a series of the Phoenix-Engemann Funds.

The trustees of the four Cappiello-Rushmore Funds, saying that they could not find a suitable buyer for their floundering funds, have asked shareholders to approve liquidating all the funds in the $28 million Cappiello-Rushmore Trust complex.

Prudential Funds of Newark, N.J. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge its Prudential Government Securities Trust into the Prudential Government Income Fund.

Prudential Funds of Newark, N.J. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Washington D.C. seeking to merge its Prudential Government Securities Trust into the Prudential Government Income Fund.

AMVESCAP of London announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase County Investment Management, an Australian institutional asset, from the National Australia Bank of Melbourne for approximately $60.47 million. County Investment Management has over $7.5 billion in assets under management. The deal, which is pending Australian regulatory approval, is expected to be completed early in 2001, according to the announcement.

When the Firstar Corporation of Milwaukee completes its acquisition of U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis, the combined asset management unit will have approximately $50 billion in mutual fund assets under management, according to Strategic Insight of New York. So what can be expected once the merger is completed? Further expansion, according to Thomas Schreier, the asset management unit's newly-appointed CEO.

Mutual Fund Investment Trust of New York has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge the H&Q IPO & Emerging Company Fund, a series of Hambrecht & Quist Fund Trust of San Francisco, with Mutual Fund Investment Trust's newly-created Chase Vista H&Q IPO & Emerging Company Fund. The Hambrecht & Quist Group was recently acquired by The Chase Manhattan Bank of New York.

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.