Qtr 1 Sales Down 50%
From The Los Angeles Times
Fund flows remain down, the ICI reports. March flows totalled only a net $12.7 billion into stock funds, according to the ICI, off from the $22.4 billion for March 1998. The paper reports that funds flows are suffering as investors shove more money into individual stocks. Stock fund sales in the first quarter were $30.6 billion down from $60.6 billion last year. Bond fund sales were off almost as much. They declined to $17.8 billion from $28.2 billion.

Merrill & PBHG Battle Over Manager
From The Wall Street Journal
Jim McCall, manager of four growth funds at Pilgrim Baxter & Associates is being courted by Merrill Lynch to manage a new fund. The problem? Pilgrim Baxter does not want him to go. Indeed, the fund company is reportedly concerned that his departure could have a negative effect on its ability to sell itself. Meanwhile, Merrill distributes PBHG funds and the fund company trades stocks through Merrill. Throw in a non-compete and you may have a court room tussle.

Paper Examines Portfolio Disclosure
From The Wall Street Journal
Is the disclosure of fund holdings next on the list of regulatory requirements at the SEC? Possibly in the future, the paper reports, but for now its priority is overseeing the conversion of mutual-fund documents into plain English.

Funds in the Press
Syre and Stein of The Boston Globe weigh in on the new ads for Fidelity Brokerage. They point out that Fidelity is selling itself as a Volvo in a land of Corvettes and that its budget falls short of that of online brokerages such as E*Trade. Worldly Investor profiles the socially responsible Citizen's Global Equity Fund. 

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