Mutual funds

At least one U.S. exchange has begun negotiations with the Financial Times Stock Exchange of London for the licensing rights to list exchange-traded funds that will track a new series of socially-responsible indices offered by FTSE, said Will Oulton, president of FTSE North America in New York.

American Century of Kansas City, Mo. has become the latest in a series of no-load fund companies to add C-shares, or level loads, to some of its funds.

Turner Investment Partners of Berwyn, Pa. will add three value funds and one bond fund to the firm's growth and fixed-income mutual funds, according to the company.

In a departure from its growth orientation, Janus Capital of Denver plans to offer its first value fund on May 1, according to a preliminary prospectus filed Feb. 14 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Online portfolio products, derided by the Investment Company Institute of Washington D.C. as unregulated mutual funds, got a strong endorsement last week when it was revealed that Fidelity Investments of Boston and Charles Schwab of San Francisco would begin offering the products to investors.

Driven by investors' desire for asset-based fees and advice from investment professionals, assets in mutual fund wrap programs increased 21.3 percent in 2000 over 1999, according to Cerulli Associates of Boston.

Over the past year there has been a lot of talk about exchange-traded funds. Industry conferences have been held on the subject, the media has written widely about them and analysts have researched them. But, are they really worth all of the attention? Do they really pose a threat to mutual funds? After all, total exchange-traded fund assets are equivalent to less than one percent of total U.S. mutual fund assets.

NEW YORK - Offering account aggregation can be a good method of marketing a mutual fund family, however there are pitfalls that can undermine the benefits of the arrangement. That was the message conveyed by industry executives at a conference here earlier this month on mutual fund systems and technology sponsored by Marcus Evans of Chicago.

AIM Management Group of Houston has filed to register a new closed-end mutual fund that will cater to wealthy investors seeking alternative types of investments.

The American Stock Exchange has announced that it will begin trading the Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund, a new exchange-traded fund offered through Barclays Global Investors of San Francisco.

The Evergreen Funds has introduced the Evergreen Premier 20 Fund, a concentrated equity mutual fund. The fund is a multi-cap, multi-sector portfolio with four share classes and it will invest in 20 to 40 stocks selected by four Evergreen managers, according to the company.

NEW YORK - Fund companies continued to introduce new exchange-traded funds throughout the past year, but the market will not be able to support an unlimited number of the new products, according to several industry executives.

American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo. has filed for the registration of a new fund that would carry harsh restrictions aimed at discouraging market timers from investing in the fund.

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States of New York, a unit of AXA Financial of New York, is in the process of developing the Equitable Premier Funds, a family of ten open-end, mutual funds.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. has begun offering investors the ability to open new accounts online in a paperless transaction that collects investors' consent through electronic signatures, the company has announced.

New York Life Investment Management of Parsippany, N.J. has filed a registration statement with the SEC for its NYLIM Exchange-Traded Fund.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer its Admiral share class, a discounted share class available to some investors, on 13 of its bond funds, the company has announced.

American Skandia Life Assurance Corporation of Shelton, Conn. has added three index portfolios and eight sector portfolios to its fund offerings, according to the company.

The Willamette Funds of Portland, Ore., is planning to introduce a new fund that will invest in companies that have received venture capital financing, according to a preliminary prospectus filed Jan. 19 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

New York Life Investment Management of Parsippany, N.J. has announced the launch of the Eclipse Funds, a fund family made up of 18 no-load funds to be distributed through fee-based financial planners and wrap programs.