Federated Portfolio Off to Flying Start

investing in stocks of small companies - that has attracted bank customers. Federated Small Cap Strategies Fund has already gathered $5 billion in assets since its introduction last Wednesday by the Pittsburgh-based fund company. "About 20% of that is from the banking industry," said James Getz, president of Federated Services Corp., a subsidiary of the firm. Mr. Getz said banks are showing a greater interest in small-cap funds than ever before. These funds fit in with asset allocation programs banks are developing. Asset allocation strategies are designed to protect customers from market swings by investing their money across a flexible spectrum of portfolio objectives. Banks have traditionally offered conservative mutual funds, so they need aggressive portfolios to diversify their customer's assets.