PRODUCT WATCH: BOWES’ NEW MUTUAL FUND TARGETS INSURANCE DEMUTUALIZATIONS

Bowes Funds LLC of Bethesda, Md., has launched a no-load mutual fund that it claims is the first to target insurance demutualizations.

The tax-sensitive Bowes Bank and Insurance Fund invests in undervalued financial services stocks. It will focus on insurance firms and thrifts that have converted from mutual to stock ownership – giving investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

The fund’s stated objective is to hold down the annual portfolio turnover rate to a maximum of 75% and limit taxable distributions to take advantage of the new 20% long-term capital gains rate. The minimum initial investment is $2,000.

Bowes Funds CEO Robert B. Bowes is a former vice president in Chase Manhattan Corp.’s financial institutions division, where he worked closely with several top insurers.

Conseco adds

3 mutual funds

Conseco Capital Management Inc. has increased its Conseco Fund Group to seven with the launching of three mutual funds.

The Conseco 20 Fund, managed by Thomas Pence and Erik Voss, concentrates its investments in Conseco Capital’s top 20 or so equity selections.

The High Yield Fund is managed by Peter Andersen, Michael Buchanan and William Ficca, and invests primarily in lower rated fixed-income securities.

The International Fund, managed by AMR Investment Services Inc. of Dallas, invests in the international equity portfolio of the AMR Investment Services Trust. Hotchkis & Wiley, Morgan Stanley Asset Management Inc. and Templeton Investment Counsel Inc. are the sub-advisers.

Conseco Capital Management is a wholly owned affiliate of insurance giant Conseco Inc. Both are based in Carmel, Ind.

2 SEI programs

focus on taxes

SEI Investments has introduced two asset allocation programs for high-net-worth investors: a globally diversified, actively managed program aimed at maximizing after-tax returns, and a tax-controlled program focused on minimizing taxes paid. Both feature a variety of asset classes.

The active tax-managed portfolios feature a new multimanager U.S.
large-cap fund, structured to outperform a passive market index. Each manager will seek to enhance after-tax returns through active selection of securities combined with sophisticated tax-sensitive trading. The minimum initial investment is $150,000.

The tax-controlled program utilizes traditional municipal bonds as underlying “tax avoidance” investments but also includes a highly customized, individually managed U.S. large-cap component that provides greater tax-management flexibility and the ability to build a personalized portfolio around existing securities. It allows for the periodic harvesting of losses to offset capital gains and even screens out specific securities such as so-called sin stocks. The balance of the tax-controlled offering includes allocations to small-cap and international securities.

The minimum investment is $250,000 for the large-cap component alone, $1 million for the entire program.

A closed-end fund

for fee-based advisers

Eaton Vance Corp. has introduced a closed-end bond fund for fee-based advisers, calling it the first of its kind. Unlike typical closed-end mutual funds, Eaton Vance Advisers Senior Floating-Rate Fund has no front-end sales charge, 12b-1 fees or early withdrawal charges. Thus, the fund can be used by a financial adviser who charges a percentage of assets under management rather than a commission.

Eaton Vance, which is based in Boston, manages $24 billion in assets.

Rydex introducing

14 sector funds

Rydex Series Trust will introduce 14 sector funds in response to what it terms an “overwhelming” number of requests from adviser clients. The proposed no-load funds will seek to follow the company’s fully invested approach and will offer unlimited exchanges between all Rydex funds

Beginning on April 1, investors will be able to take advantage of investment exposure in the following specific industry groups: banking, basic materials, biotechnology, consumer products, electronics, energy, energy services, financial services, health c
are, leisure, retailing, technology, telecommunications and transportation.

The individual funds have a minimum initial investment requirement of $25,000 and each will begin trading after reaching $5 million in assets.

Pimco enhances

its Internet site

Pimco Funds has added to its World Wide Web site a special area for professional financial advisers that will carry Quote.com financial market information. The site (www.pimcofunds.com), initially launched on Oct. 31, provides up-to-date fund information on portfolio holdings and sector allocation, Morningstar and Lipper rankings, and daily manager commentaries. The Quote.com feature offers stock quotes, financial news and research to qualified Pimco Funds sellers at no cost.

Mutual of Omaha

eases 401(k) access

Mutual of Omaha Cos. has launched a 401(k) product that offers participants daily valuation and trading services; comprehensive reporting for brokers, plan sponsors and participants; a 24-hour voice response system; and Internet access to accounts – with e-mail, investment performance data, the ability to execute transfers and other features.

Mutual of Omaha’s 401(k) customers can now tap into investment expertise and resources that typically are accessible only to very large retirement plans or institutional investors.