AT THE BELL

Taking the market’s pulse

In a sign of growing investor caution, August flows into the Vanguard Group’s money market funds outpaced those into its equity funds — $1.6 billion to $1.3 billion. Overall flows into the nation’s second-largest fund complex were about $4 billion in August, compared to $6 billion in July and $3.6 billion in June. Interest in index funds was stronger than in actively managed ones. Even during last week’s turbulence, Vanguard 500 index fund flows were essentially flat. “It was a wash,” says John Woerth, a spokesman. “The buyers and sellers canceled each other out.” But customers at the nation’s largest discount brokerage took Wall Street’s latest blood bath in stride. Charles Schwab & Co. last Tuesday night randomly interviewed 449 customers with at least $5,000 in equity or at least one trade placed in the past year, and found that 90% of them remained comfortable with their investment approach. Indeed, 92% said the stock market continues to be the best place for investing. Moreover, of 151 investment advisers surveyed, 85% remain comfortable and just 7% said they are getting calls from clients who are concerned.

Call it Malaise-ia

Prompted by the market’s 84% tumble since 1996, Morgan Stanley Capital International has booted Malaysia from its developed country indexes. It yanked the little nation located at the foot of Southeast Asia from its well-known EAFE Index, its world index and its KOKUSAI Index. The move is effective at the close of business Sept. 30.

The move follows a recent decision by Malaysia that sellers of Malaysian stocks cannot take their money out of the country for at least a year, a spokesman says. MSCI is keeping Malaysia on its emerging markets indexes however.

MFS seeks to hike fees

MFS Investment Services of Boston wants to raise its management fees on the $8.49 billion Massachusetts Investors Trust fund, the $5.13 billion MFS Research Fund and the $3.15 billion Massachusetts Investors Growth Stock Fund. If shareholders approve the changes, the Investors Trust fund would be affected most. MFS’ management fees for that fund would climb to 33 basis points, up from 19 basis points. Under the proposed fee structure, the firm would have earned $15.1 million from managing the fund in 1997, instead of the $8.8 million it actually received. MFS also wants to boost its fees on the Growth Stock fund to 33 basis points from 28, and on the Research Fund to 43 basis points from 34. Even with the increases, maintains MFS — which has $80 billion in assets — its expenses are below the industry average.

That’s AAL for Eveillard

Adding to the woes of noted international-stock manager Jean-Marie Eveillard, AAL Capital Management is removing his firm as subadviser of the $151 million AAL International Stock Fund, according to a filing. Shareholders are being asked to replace Societe Generale Asset Management Corp. with Boston-based Oechsle International Advisers. Ronald G. Anderson, president of the Appleton, Wis.-based AAL Mutual Funds, wrote shareholders that SoGen’s value style led to an excessive cash position and that returns had lagged the fund’s peers. Mr. Eveillard could not be reached for comment. Oechsle also has agreed to a one-third cut in SoGen’s management fee.

Block buying 2d CPA firm

H&R Block Inc. will buy the Chicago accounting firm of Friedman Eisenstein Raemer & Schwartz LLP, including its Essex LLC money-management subsidiary. Friedman Eisenstein, one of the nation’s 25 largest accounting firms with an estimated $40 million in annual revenues, is the second accountancy acquired by the Kansas City-based tax-preparation company. H&R Block is trying to build a national accounting and consulting franchise. Terms weren’t disclosed. Essex, located in Schaumburg, Ill., oversees about $700 million, with full discretion over $100 million of the total.

Future is now for Cantor

The Chicago Board of Trade faces its most serious threat yet to open outcry trading on Tuesday when the electronically based Cantor Exchange begins trading futures contracts on the 30-year Treasury bond. Treasury bond futures represent more than 40% of the Chicago mart’s total trading volume. Despite stiff opposition from the CBT and other open-outcry exchanges, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday approved Cantor’s trading application. The exchange is operated jointly by the Board of Trade of the City of New York and Cantor Fitzgerald LP, which operates the largest electronic market for cash government securities.

Etc.: Datalynx gets new No. 1

Skip Schweiss was named to head Denver-based First Trust Corp.’s Datalynx division, an electronic mutual-fund supermarket for advisers. Mr. Schweiss, 36 — taking over for Jim Groebe, who was promoted to head of marketing at First Trust — has led Datalynx’s business development efforts for several years . . . Last week, when Fidelity Investments named James Curvey, 63, president of FMR Corp., it was the first time the position had been filled in 12 years. He’s No. 2 to Fidelity chairman Edward “Ned” Johnson III, who’s 68.