Mutual funds

J. & W. Seligman & Co. of New York is planning a new series of four mutual funds that will make use of proprietary asset allocation strategies the firm has developed, according to an SEC filing.

Merrill Lynch Asset Management of New York is planning to offer new mutual funds that will be run by two well-known money managers who joined the firm recently, Robert Doll and Jim McCall, according to two SEC filings.

Jundt Associates of Minneapolis, Minn., the adviser to four growth oriented load-funds, plans to begin offering a no-load family of funds next year. The American Eagle Funds will include two growth funds. One of these may use leverage to increase its returns, according to a registration statement filed with the SEC Nov. 19. The new funds include the Capital Appreciation Fund, which may sell short and use other techniques to increase its leverage in investing in growth stocks, and the Twenty Fund. The Twenty Fund will invest in approximately 20 stocks, primarily of U.S. growth companies.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter of New York is planning to offer a mutual fund that will invest in companies that are expected to do well in the economic environment of the new millennium, according to an SEC filing.

Online brokerage Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette of New York has begun offering the first two no-load, equity funds in a new fund family. The Strategic Growth Fund and the Choice Technology Fund will be offered through DLJdirect. The adviser for the funds will be DLJ Investment Management Corp. of New York.

StockJungle.com of Culver City, Calif. has added its own contribution to a new concept in the industry, a concept StockJungle.com calls, "naked mutual funds."

Janus of Denver, Colo., the growth-oriented mutual fund company, is planning to offer its first value fund since 1988.

The Pioneer Group of Boston plans to open a junk bond fund that will incorporate assets from another high-yield bond 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.

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.

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.

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.

Charles Schwab & Co. of San Francisco has reached an agreement with OffRoad Capital Corporation, also of San Francisco, to offer private equity investments to Schwab customers.

Only three mutual funds track the Dow Jones Industrial Average while 118 funds track the S&P 500, according to Lipper of Summit, N.J. However, because the change in the Dow index that took effect Nov. 1 is likely to greatly improve its performance, a number of mutual fund companies might bring Dow Jones index funds to market, according to portfolio managers and researchers.