AT THE BELL

Strong moves to find a CEO

Strong Capital Management Inc. has hired Chicago-based executive recruiter Crist Partners Ltd. to conduct a search for a chief executive. Founder Richard Strong, 55, is expected to continue as chairman of the Milwaukee-based mutual fund manager. The search follows on the heels of Mr. Strong’s confirmation that he may consider selling the independent firm, which manages $28.1 billion in assets.

Royal flush: Brits yank Coutts

The worldwide private banking division of London-based National Westminster Bank that counts the British queen among its clients is expected to shutter its New York and Los Angeles offices by the end of March. Natwest is consolidating Coutts’ two-year-old U.S. operations, which sources say have been burned by bad loans that led to some housecleaning among top executives. Some employees will transfer to the Miami office of the prestigious bank. A spokesman for Natwest denied that the U.S. operation has been hurt by bad loans, saying that the consolidation is simply a more effective way of serving the high-net-worth Latin Americans who account for the bulk of Coutts’ business in the United States.

Are you ready for Dow 8000?

Corporate earnings reports will continue to pleasantly surprise analysts, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average will “pierce through 8000 — easily” this week, says John Y. Kim, president and chief investment officer of Aetna Corp. subsidiary Aeltus Investment Management Inc. in Hartford, Conn. Considering the market ended last week at 7906.50 after falling 60 points Friday, that prediction hardly ranks with Nostradamus’. But all last week the Dow teased portfolio managers, yet never closed at or above 8000. Mr. Kim says two-thirds of companies in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Index that have reported fourth-quarter 1997 earnings hit or exceeded expectations.

Market not sweet for REITs

Shares of real estate investment trusts, a darling of mutual funds investing in real estate, headed south late last week after
it was learned President Clinton is expected to take aim at tax loopholes in the booming $140.5 billion REIT market. Overall, REIT shares fell only slightly, but stocks of the giant “paired-share” REITs, which could be hurt most by loophole-fillers, took a hit: First Union Real Estate Investments, Starwood Hotels, Patriot American and Meditrust Corp. saw shares fall 15.2%; 2.8%; 5.8%; and 5.5%, respectively, on Thursday. President Clinton is proposing to clamp down on paired-share REITs, which, under a grandfather clause, can run operating companies and, thus, protect most of the profits from those companies from corporate income taxes. “A lot of fund managers were excited about the paired-share structure because it gave these companies more flexibility,” says Morningstar Inc. analyst Kevin McDevitt.

Riding herd in Colorado

Under a bill introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives last week, those entering the investment advisory business would have to pass a competency exam being developed by the North American Securities Administrators Association. Colorado Securities Commissioner Philip Feigin says those licensed as registered reps would not have to pass the new exam in order to receive an investment adviser license, and advisers already doing business in the state would receive licenses automatically. The state is one of four that currently do not regulate investment advisers. Under federal law passed in 1996, advisers who manage assets of up to $25 million fall under state regulation, while larger advisers are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cyberspace crunch for Datek

Datek Online, a firm for do-it-yourself investors who trade securities electronically, is scouring the landscape for larger digs. Bursting at the seams, the Iselin, N.J., firm is conducting a search in New Jersey and New York for campus-style corporate headquarters.

“We are a rapidly growing company,” says Jeffrey Citron, chief executive. Quite an understatement: The firm, w
hich employed 30 people just three years ago, now has a staff of 500 and wants to expand to 2,000 in the next four to five years. It hopes to move into new offices in 1999.

Corrections

A Page 9 chart in the Jan. 26 issue should have listed Travelers Corp.’s acquisition of Salomon Inc. as the fifth-largest deal of 1997, with a value of $8.97 billion.

A Jan. 26 story misspelled the name of Charles Schwab & Co.’s executive vice president of annuity and life insurance. He is William J. Klipp.