Mutual funds

Two mutual fund companies with national distribution have opened up a new front in the increasingly heated competition to sell investment funds with insurance benefits.

The Vanguard Group has filed a registration statement with the SEC for a new fund called the Vanguard Tax-Managed Small-Cap Fund.

The Growth Fund of Spain, one of 15 closed-end funds managed by Scudder Kemper Investments, was to convert to an open-end fund last week. Shareholders had previously approved a proposal to convert the fund and to reorganize it as a new fund in the Kemper Global/International Series.

Fidelity Investments Public Service Sector Services Company announced that it has introduced SLAMNet, the first electronic asset management, Internet-based product designed specifically for public sector clients. SLAMNet gets its name from Fidelity's acronym for its State and Local Asset Management program. Through a secured website, the company offers access to stock quotes and information from major news services and trade publications. It also gives users the ability to trade Fidelity's institutional money market funds online.

Alleghany Funds of Chicago recently opened the Alleghany/Chicago Trust Small Cap Value Fund. The fund will invest in companies with positive or improving cash flows and which show other signs of financial strength. The fund will be managed by Patricia Falkowski. Previously,

Strong Funds of Milwaukee has introduced Prime Managers, a mutual fund investment service that makes available no-load funds from nine leading investment managers on a no-transaction fee basis.

Janus and Legg Mason are among the latest of a growing list of companies that run sector funds- those that invest in a particular market sector.

A publicly-traded Christian Internet company is getting into the mutual fund business.

Mellon Bank Corporation of Pittsburgh and its mutual fund company, the Dreyfus Corporation, announced the start of a new family of offshore funds based in Dublin, Ireland. The fund family, Dreyfus Global Funds, plc, will be composed of four funds: The Cash Plus Fund, U.S. Treasury Fund, Deutsche Mark Fund and Sterling Fund. The funds are not available to U.S. or Irish citizens.

E*Trade announced the launch of Power Search, its newest research tool for mutual fund investors, which was developed by Personalogic, a San Diego-based software design firm. Using Power Search, E*Trade's mutual fund investors will be able to compare funds they have selected with as many as 20 other funds.

Wilshire Associates of Santa Monica has introduced a new software feature that allows plan sponsors to evaluate the relationship between the size of assets under management and the return for a given investment manager. Called "Asset Growth vs. Value-Added," it has been incorporated into the Wilshire Compass, software that helps investment executives determine asset allocation strategies, optimal manager allocations, and ideal managers for specific asset classes.

PIMCO Funds Distributors LLC of Stamford, Conn. announced the introduction of the PIMCO Funds Asset Allocation Series - three actively managed mutual funds that invest in diversified portfolios of PIMCO funds.

Thomas White International of Chicago, investment adviser to the Thomas White Funds Family, announced the opening of the new Thomas White American Growth Fund. The fund is designed to seek long-term returns, with lower volatility compared to comparable funds, by investing in equities of broadly diversified U.S. companies. The fund is no-load and requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500.

Scudder announced it is opening the Scudder Retirement Plus Account, a no-fee retirement account for mutual funds and other investment products. It will provide investors access to over 60 no-load Scudder funds and more than 2,000 other funds.

Hoping to capture a piece of the $192 billion commercial bank sweep market, the year-old partnership of American Century Investments and J. P. Morgan has introduced a same-day bank sweep program.

Federated Investors, a leading investment management firm that manages about $103 billion in assets in more than 150 mutual funds, is opening a new bond fund. The Federated Ultrashort Bond Fund will seek higher yields than money market funds. It will invest in a variety of short-duration debt securities, government bonds and mortgage- and asset-backed bonds. The fund's initial net asset value will be $2 per share.

Fidelity is planning to introduce telephone response units that will allow investors in 401(k) and 403(b) plans to make investment changes by speaking into their phones. The company plans to start the service in early 1999 and have it available for all 401(k) and 403(b) plans by the end of the year.

Lord, Abbett & Company has introduced a new mutual fund. The Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund will invest primarily in mid-sized companies with market capitalizations of $1 billion to $6 billion, with histories of strong earnings and revenue growth as well as experienced management teams.

Fidelity announced the opening of Fidelity Tax Managed Stock Fund, which will seek long term growth while attempting to reduce the impact of federal taxes on shareholders' returns.

A low-cost brokerage and advisory firm from Dallas is poised to reap the benefits of the investment philosophy of Harry S. Dent who has won notoriety with his notion that baby boomers will lead the greatest economic expansion in U.S. history and drive the economy through the next decade.