PRODUCT WATCH

Prudential Securities website adds IPO feature

Prudential Securities in New York has launched New Issues, a program that allows clients of Prudential Advisor to view listings of initial public offerings online via www.PrudentialSecurities.com.

Clients can view a summary of IPO offering terms and prospectuses online, as well as generate e-mail directly to their personal financial adviser for additional information.

Illinois manager launches second fund

Leonetti & Associates Inc., an investment firm in Buffalo Grove, Ill., has launched its second no-load mutual fund, the Leonetti Growth fund. The fund will focus on long-term growth of capital and will invest in the equity securities of domestic companies of any size. Growth stocks that exhibit a rising trend in earnings and revenues, out-of-favor blue chip stocks, and small companies with rising revenues and earnings will be selected. The fund can be purchased with a minimum investment of $100.

Emerging markets search engine added

Internet Securities Inc. in Boston has introduced Intellifind, a search engine for its ISI Emerging Markets service. Subscribers can search in eighteen languages and across information categories like news, company and industry, financial markets, macroeconomic analysis, and legal and current affairs. Intellifind can also retrieve information across countries, regions, publication dates and sources. Intellifind is currently available to clients that access the U.S. and U.K. servers. Worldwide rollout for 16 other locations is scheduled for later this year.

AmEx members get more privileges

American Express Co. in New York has launched Membership Banking, a service that provides customers with the ability to bank via the Internet, telephone, ATM or mail. Membership Banking is located at www.americanexpress.com/banking. Its range of products includes money market and checking accounts, certificates of deposit and lines of credit.

Membership Banking provides free unlimited electronic bill payment on all checking accounts, rebates for ATM surcharges imposed by other banks for customers with interest-bearing checking accounts, and 24-hour customer service by telephone or e-mail.

In addition to cardmembers, Membership Banking is available to consumers who do not currently have a relationship with American Express.

Closed-end fund site gets new features

The Closed-End Fund Center in Kansas City has upgraded its website, www.closed-endfunds.com. Visitors can now view lists of Today’s Leaders based on five separate criteria, including total net assets, net asset value, market price, premium or discount.

A pre-sorted list of the top 25 closed-end funds, based on performance figures for the prior day’s business close is available. The new Custom Search feature lets users choose from performance criteria (market price, NAV, premium or discount), adviser, asset classification and expense ratio. The site also contains an archive of articles.

Dain fixed-income inventory accessible

RPR Correspondent Clearing, a unit of Dain Rauscher Inc. that provides trade clearing, settlement services and product and training support to nonaffiliated correspondent brokers in St. Louis, now offers online access to Dain Rauscher’s fixed income inventory.

Using a search screen, correspondent brokers can sort through $150 million in inventory and execute orders from their workstation.

The fixed income inventory includes certificates of deposit, convertible, corporate and government agency bonds, preferred stock, mortgage-backed bonds, asset backed securities and unit investment trusts. By yearend, RPR will release a web-based broker-workstation and broker service technology platform.