Short Takes: Bank Fund Executives Singing the Blues

Nine bank mutual fund executives say their business has failed to meet their expectations, according to a study conducted by consulting firm Deloitte & Touche.

The New York-based company interviewed 18 executives at banks nationwide in an attempt to assess how bankers perceive their own fund families. The study also looked at the general public's perception of banks as sellers of mutual funds.

Of those executives who said their businesses had fallen short, 71% said their banks have not made a "significant" commitment to managing mutual funds. None of the bankers surveyed said they were giving up or decreasing their commitment.

The pessimism of these bank executives was underscored by other survey findings. Of the 750 investors interviewed, only 9% said their last mutual fund transaction was at a bank.

Thirty-three percent said they invested directly at a mutual fund company, and 31% said they bought a fund at a full-service brokerage company.

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