Mutual funds

TransNations Investments LLC of New York last week said it has begun offering shares of the Amidex35 mutual fund. The fund invests in companies in the newly-formed Amidex35 Index. The index includes selected stocks listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Israeli companies listed on major U.S. exchanges. The Amidex35 fund has no sales charge and TransNations intends to use the Internet as the primary channel for retail sales.

Payden & Rygel of Los Angeles launched a new fund, the California Municipal Income Fund, on June 15. The fund invests in a diversified portfolio of debt securities that pay interest and dividend income exempt from California state and federal taxes.

FMR Corp., the parent company of Fidelity Investments of Boston, plans to sell $750 million in corporate bonds, the company and independent credit rating agencies said last week. The funds will be used for general corporate purposes, said Thomas Eidson, a Fidelity spokesperson. Fidelity has no plans to use the proceeds to acquire another company or as the first step in going public, Eidson said. He declined to disclose details of Fidelity's plans, citing federal securities laws' limitations on public comment while the sale is pending. The sale marks the first time that Fidelity has issued corporate bonds.

OppenheimerFunds of New York is creating a new fund family that will be sub-advised by Trinity Investment Management Corp. of Boston, a recent acquisition.

Franklin Templeton Distributors of San Mateo, Calif., introduced the Franklin Large Cap Growth Fund June 7. The fund invests in companies with market capitalizations of $8.5 billion or more, for long-term capital appreciation. The fund will aim to invest in companies that will have revenue growth in excess of the overall economy, either through above-average industry expansion or market share gains, according to Terri Spath, portfolio manager.

Prudential Investments of Newark, N.J., has introduced three unusual sector funds that mix enhanced index investing with active management. The funds, introduced May 26, are the Prudential Technology Fund, the Prudential Health Sciences Fund and the Prudential Financial Services Fund.

Some new index funds are being developed that will be based on a Dow Jones index that satisfies the strictures of Islamic investors.

Guinness Flight Investment Management of Pasadena, Calif. and Wired magazine have a challenger as to who can claim having the right definition of the "new economy."

Even though Internet stocks have recently been in a slump, there are a number of mutual fund companies poised to introduce their own Internet index funds.

Monument Funds Group of Bethesda, Md., best known for its Monument Internet Fund, launched the Monument Medical Sciences Fund on May 25.

Despite poor returns on bank stocks over the past two years, at least a couple of money managers are creating new products tied to the banking industry, signaling that the worst may be over for bank funds.

Putnam Investments has filed with the SEC to create a tax-managed mutual fund.

Prudential Investments Advisory Group of Newark, N.J., introduced last week a business development program to help different types of financial advisors expand their businesses. Called Advisor 2000, the program is designed to help registered investment advisors, financial planners, independent stockbrokers and bankers build their practices and become more profitable. Advisor 2000 attempts to do this by helping advisors strengthen client relationships, develop strategic partnerships with financial institutions, prospect for wealthier clients and foster their own careers.

State Street Research of Boston has begun an investment education program for Spanish- and Chinese-speaking Americans. The effort includes distributing bilingual mutual fund prospectuses and Spanish- and Chinese-language educational brochures and providing bilingual customer service support. Beginning in June, State Street Research will run websites in Chinese and Spanish.

E*Trade of Palo Alto, Calif. plans to offer the E*Trade Technology Index Fund. The fund will track the Goldman Sachs Technology Index, which currently consists of 169 technology stocks. E*Trade filed a registration statement for the new fund with the SEC on May 24.

E*Trade Group of Palo Alto, Calif., filed a registration statement last week with the SEC to introduce two new index funds - the E*Trade Extended Market Index and the E*Trade Aggregate Bond Index. E*Trade introduced its first index fund, the E*Trade S&P 500 Index Fund, earlier this year.

The number of mutual funds operated by religious groups has risen dramatically in the past five years, and more are expected to be introduced to meet the demand of consumers who seek to align their investing with their beliefs.

Bankers Trust Company of New York will introduce the BT Pyramid International Developed Markets Fund in June for its retirement plan customers. The fund will invest in developed markets outside of the U.S.

Newport Fund Management of San Francisco has introduced the Newport Asia Pacific Fund which will invest in companies throughout Asia. The fund will be co-managed by David Smith and Christopher Legallet. Smith will concentrate on Japan while Legallet will focus on all other countries in the Pacific Rim.

Eaton Vance of Boston has been given a green light by the SEC chief accountant's office to install a .70 percent 12b-1 "equivalent" distribution program on two of its four senior prime rate bank loan interval funds. The approval was effective May 1.