In Brief (four items)

B of A Has Single Unit For Asset Management

Bank of America Corp. has combined its asset management operations under a single name, Banc of America Capital Management.The move is meant to streamline reporting and management of the unit, which has $230 billion of assets under management.

The unit consolidates certain operations that have been added through Bank of America's acquisitions of banking companies. The group includes TradeStreet Investment Associates, Boatmen's Capital Management, Sovran Capital Management, and Banc of America Advisors.

Money management will be overseen in four locations, with equity in St. Louis, taxable and long-term fixed income in Los Angeles, and short-term fixed income in Charlotte, N.C., and Chicago.

The new name reflects the strength of the operations' expanded organization and resources, said Robert H. Gordon, client service and marketing executive.


J.P. Morgan Adds 3 Institutional Funds

J.P. Morgan has launched three mutual funds for institutional investors in Europe.The funds, launched this month, are managed by New York-based J.P. Morgan Investment Management and will be offered in three currencies - the Euro Liquidity Fund, in euros; the Great Britain Liquidity Fund, in British pounds; and the Dollar Liquidity Fund.

Institutional money market funds are still relatively new in Europe - the first one was launched five years ago - so there is room for growth, Peter Knight, head of institutional liquidity for J.P. Morgan Investment Management, said in a statement.

However, a survey, conducted by J.P. Morgan to coincide with the funds' launch, found that although investors prefer money market funds over other short-term investments, more education is needed.


DLJdirect Offering Proprietary Funds

DLJdirect Inc., the on-line brokerage arm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc., launched its first two proprietary mutual funds on Friday.Though the firm makes about 8,000 third-party funds available to customers, a spokeswoman said there was demand for proprietary products. The new, actively managed portfolios - a growth fund and a technology fund - do not carry loads.

DLJ Investment Management Corp., which manages a family of load funds for its parent, is also the investment adviser for the new funds. Hugh M. Neuburger is the primary manager of them.

The spokeswoman said she expected more funds to be launched, though she did not give a time frame. "This is the beginning of a family of DLJdirect Funds," she said.

Other on-line brokerages, such as E-Trade of Palo Alto, Calif., and Charles Schwab & Co. of San Francisco, have been building their own networks of proprietary funds.

- Cheryl Winokur


Money Fund Assets Up Slightly in Week

Money market mutual fund assets climbed 0.64%, to $1.567 trillion, for the week that ended Nov. 17, the Investment Company Institute reported.Assets in retail money funds rose 0.61%, to $913.05 billion. Taxable assets in that category increased 0.53%, to $759.08 billion, and tax-exempt assets jumped 1.02%, to $153.97 billion.

Institutional money fund assets increased 0.64%, to $653.98 billion. Taxable assets in that category rose 0.55%, to $604.43 billion, and tax-exempt assets jumped 1.71%, to $49.55 billion.

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