Mutual funds

Venus Capital Management of Boston last week filed with the SEC to introduce a new fund, The India Technology Fund.

Summit Mutual Funds of Cincinnati, Ohio, will start a "socially-responsible" index fund on June 26 that places a greater weight than its index on companies that engage in ethical business practices. But, the fund does not exclude any companies, according to an SEC filing.

The private asset management division of The Dreyfus Corp. of New York, is planning to offer 13 new funds to high-net-worth clients.

State Street Global Advisors of Boston has filed with the SEC to offer eight exchange-traded funds, five of them based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. One is based on the Wilshire REIT Index and two on Morgan Stanley technology indexes - the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 and the Morgan Stanley Internet Index.

Aquila Management Corp. of New York, adviser to the Aquila Group of Funds, has created two new equity funds with economist Arthur B. Laffer.

NEW YORK - Even though exchange-traded funds are among the largest 10 index funds in each major asset class and make up 10 percent of all index funds, fund companies are wary of offering the product, according to one industry executive.

Putnam Investments of Boston is considering creating a new type of cloned fund sensitive to capital gains taxes, said Gordon Forrester, managing director at Putnam.

Janus of Denver, Colo. is creating a new line of funds to expand its sales through plan sponsors, broker/dealer wrap programs and bank trust departments.

OppenheimerFunds of New York is planning to offer a new technology fund.

Within the next year, the mutual fund industry can expect to see a new share class attached to some equity funds that allows them to be traded throughout the day and includes features common to exchange-traded funds, according to executives in the mutual fund industry.

NEW YORK - Amerindo Investment Advisors of New York plans to launch two new technology-related mutual funds, as well as a clone of its flagship Amerindo Technology Fund.

There is a new player in the socially-responsible mutual fund arena. Friends Ivory & Sime, best known as an institutional global money manager based in London, has launched two new no-load socially responsible funds.

The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. has filed registration statements with the SEC to introduce two new international index funds and to add an institutional share class for three existing international index funds, the company announced last week.

Capitalizing on recent market volatility, Putnam Investments of Boston started offering insurance on all of its funds Feb. 1, becoming the first independent fund company to offer this type of product.

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates of Wayne, Pa. will begin offering separate accounts in an effort to attract high-net-worth investors, according to Tom Florence, a senior vice president and director of the firm.

The money management arm of Waddell & Reed Financial of Overland Park, Kan. is planning to offer a tax-managed fund.

Charles Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource hit a milestone late last month when the assets of its mutual fund marketplace reached the $100 billion mark. Approximately $30 billion of new money was invested during 1999, translating into a 47 percent increase in assets for the year.

Neuberger Berman of New York registered with the SEC last week to add a new technology growth fund that will be launched in May, according to Jennifer Silver, the company's managing director. The new fund will be managed by a team of portfolio managers led by Silver, according to Neuberger.

The adviser to the Value Trend Links Fund is preparing to expand its fund lineup.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter of New York is planning to offer a new tax-managed fund.