In Brief: Strong Funds Kicks Off 9-Manager Fund Array

Strong Funds, Milwaukee, has introduced a small-scale version of a mutual fund supermarket.

The service, called Prime Managers, offers no-load funds from nine investment managers on a no-transaction-fee basis.

The fund managers participating in the program are the Marsico Funds, Acorn Funds, Fasciano Funds, Ariel Funds, Oakmark Funds, Baron Funds, Rainier Funds, and Warburg Pincus Funds, as well as Strong itself.

Strong said the "boutique" approach is aimed at offering a limited number of well-regarded funds with proven managers rather than offering thousands of funds, as some fund supermarkets do.

The objective is to let investors cut through the clutter involved in choosing among the more than 7,000 mutual funds in the market.

Unlike similar services offered by other fund companies and brokerage firms, Prime Managers is not coupled with a discount brokerage service offering individual stocks and bonds.

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