PATRICIA A. SANTELLI Vice president, sales manager Huntington National Bank Columbus, Ohio
Some will move, but most won't. With our program, we try and encourage the customers to keep some of their money in CDs already.
We think the investor today and the investor in the future will be more interested in long-term growth and will always keep some of the money in mutual funds.
Also, we're encouraging all customers to diversify to keep something in a very safe investment, something in an income producing investment, and something in a growth investment.
Because customers have already diversified, we don't anticipate a mass movement from mutual funds into CDs. JULIE BLALOCK Investment consultant F & M Bank Granite Quarry, N.C.
Some customers may move to CDs, but we anticipate that most are going to be happier with the rate of return that mutual funds are going to give.
We run our operation by emphasizing asset allocation. We encourage customers to have money in the bank, money in equities, and money in other fixed instruments. We make sure that they are well diversified. Money that is in CDs will probably stay. Money that is in mutual funds and annuities should probably stay where it is, too.
Also, some customers have committed to mutual funds by purchasing a back-end-loaded fund. They'd be less inclined to move their money. KEVIN FEIN Vice president, sales manager First Interstate Bank of Arizona Phoenix
We don't expect a lot of movement out of mutual funds to CDs. Mutual funds, by their nature, are a longer-term investment, and if rates were to turn around in two to three years, it probably, wouldn't be advisable or suitable for a customer to dump a mutual fund and go back to a CD.
The driving force is what customers have invested in. We tell our customers that they shouldn't be putting 100% of what they have in mutual funds. We also sell a great deal of money market mutual funds to more conservative customers. We'd expect to see these customers come right back to CDs when the rate differential justifies the move.
