ND Holdings is acquiring ARM Securities Corp., a mutual fund and annuities broker dealer filing for bankruptcy, for an undisclosed amount of cash.

The Pioneer Group of Boston has issued a letter to its corporate shareholders to update them on the firm's efforts to sell the company. The April 18 letter, signed by 73-year-old Pioneer president John F. Cogan, Jr., alerts shareholders that the Pioneer "board is very encouraged by the expressions of interest received to date," and attacks Lens Investment Management of Portland, Maine, a beneficial owner of 4.1 percent of Pioneer's stock.

T. Rowe Price Associates of Baltimore will pay $780 million in cash to buy out Robert Fleming Holdings, Ltd., of London in the firm's joint venture, Rowe Price-Fleming International of Baltimore.

Pioneer Group of Boston has purchased five mutual funds in the Czech Republic currently owned and operated by Credit Suisse Asset Management's investment management unit in the Czech Republic, Pioneer Group has announced. Terms of the sales were not disclosed.

Legg Mason of Baltimore, Md. has agreed to acquire Perigee, the ninth largest Canadian-based money management firm, based in Toronto. The acquisition will be structured as a stock swap. The firm's principals will remain. Perigee will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Conseco Capital Management, the money management arm of Conseco, the insurance, mutual fund and financial services company of Carmel, Ind., will buy the adviser to the StockCar Stocks Index Fund, according to a proxy statement the fund filed with the SEC March 1. Conseco will pay up to $5 million over four years to buy the fund's adviser, StockCar Stocks Advisors, LLC of Mooresville, N.C., according to the proxy statement. The exact purchase price will be determined by future fund sales, according to the proxy statement.

Waddell & Reed Financial of Overland Park, Kan., has announced it plans to acquire The Legend Group, a mutual fund distribution and retirement planning company based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for $61 million in cash and contingent cash payments of up to $14 million over three years.

For the second time in less than six months, ReliaStar Financial Corp. of Minneapolis has shown that it is intent on building up its mutual fund business.

Merrill Lynch Asset Management of Princeton, N.J. is reshuffling its international funds lineup to merge out of existence three comparatively small funds.

Federated Investors of Pittsburgh, Pa. has purchased InvestLink Technologies from United Asset Management Corp. of Boston. InvestLink of New York is a software developer and marketer of systems for the record-keeping, administration and servicing of defined contribution plans. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

It is a small part of a big deal but Charles Schwab Corp.'s announcement that it would acquire U.S. Trust Corp. of New York means Schwab will wind up doing something it has tried to avoid.

The Prudential Insurance Company of America of Newark, N.J. announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Hochman & Baker of Northbrook, Ill., a firm that trains accountants to offer investment products to its clients.

Deutsche Bank of Frankfurt, Germany announced last week it will combine the no-load funds from its subsidiaries, Morgan Grenfell of New York and Bankers Trust of New York, to create a new no-load fund family under the Deutsche name.

Prudential Insurance Company of Newark, N.J. has purchased a majority stake in the third-largest independent fund management company in Mexico. Prudential last week acquired a 51 percent interest in Apolo Operadora de Sociedades de Inversion of Mexico City. The new company will be named Prudential Apolo Operadora de Sociedades de Inversion. Both companies declined to disclose how much Prudential paid for Apolo Operadora.

Salomon Smith Barney of New York has filed a registration statement with the SEC to ask shareholders of its closed-end Greenwich Street Municipal Fund and shareholders of its open-end Smith Barney Managed Municipals Fund to merge the former fund into the latter. If approved, the proxy vote will take place Feb. 11.

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.

Gartmore Investment Management of London, the pension and investment management unit of National Westminster Bank, also of London, is for sale.

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates of Wayne, Penn., which had been for sale, has now been taken off the auction block, according to a firm spokesperson.

Orbitex Financial Services Group of New York, parent to the investment adviser of the Orbitex Group of Funds, has acquired Clarke Lanzen Skalla Investment of Omaha, Neb., the company announced.

Liberty Funds Group of Boston has completed its year-long integration of its subsidiaries, Colonial Management Associates of Boston and Stein Roe Mutual Funds of Chicago.