PaineWebber Buys Asset Manager DSI
PaineWebber Group Inc. of New York has bought DSI International Management Inc., an institutional global equity asset manager based in Norwalk, Conn.DSI, which manages about $5 billion of assets for about 15 institutional clients, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of a newly formed holding company, PaineWebber Asset Management Inc. The latter will also hold PaineWebber's Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management Inc., which has $60 billion of assets under management. Terms of the transaction, which closed Wednesday, were not disclosed.
DSI specializes in enhanced index portfolio management, which uses valuation models to weight holdings in various stocks within a certain index.
"Enhanced indexing will become a large growth category," said Brian M. Storms, president and chief operating officer of both Mitchell Hutchins and PaineWebber Asset Management. Mr. Storms said the strategy would enable PaineWebber to launch new products - including mutual funds, wrap accounts, and variable annuities - as early as the first quarter of 2000.
PaineWebber Asset Management will also seek to broaden distribution of its products and may consider additional acquisitions, Mr. Storms said.
Margo N. Alexander will continue as chairman and chief executive of Mitchell Hutchins, and hold those titles at PaineWebber Asset Management. John J. Holmgren will remain president and chief investment officer of DSI.
- Amy L. Anderson
Pa. Fund Firm to Expand Wholesale Unit
Delaware Investments is adding two field wholesaler positions to cater to the bank channel, and says it expects to launch a new mutual fund next month.Terrence Cunningham, who heads the Philadelphia-based fund company's financial institutions division, said he planned to hire four wholesalers by January, bringing the total in that channel to 10.
The new wholesalers would cover new and prospective distribution agreements. This year the fund company was added to the brokerage short lists at Princeton, N.J.-based Summit Bancorp and Southtrust Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., among others, he said.
The fund company, a unit of Lincoln National Corp., sold $315 million of funds through bank brokerages in 1998, and Mr. Cunningham said he expects this year's sales to total about $325 million.
Delaware Investments also said it plans to launch the Delaware Technology and Innovation Fund in early January, said J. Chris Meyer, senior vice president of marketing and product management.
The fund, which would be Delaware's fourth growth fund, would invest primarily in technology companies, but would also invest in those that have novel products and services.
Delaware has about 60 retail funds, with $17 billion of assets under management, Mr. Meyer said.
- Cheryl Winokur
Goldman to Unveil New Class of Funds
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to launch a "Select" class for nine institutional money market funds, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.The new class of the Financial Square Funds would carry an 18-basis-point management fee. It would also have a 3-basis point 12b-1 fee, which is significantly lower than those of three other available classes, said a representative at Goldman Sachs' telephone information center. The funds require a minimum investment of $10 million, the representative said.
Select shares will be available for the Prime Obligations Fund, Money Market Fund, Premium Money Market Fund, Treasury Obligations Fund, Treasury Instruments Fund, Government Fund, Federal Fund, Tax-Free Money Market Fund, and Municipal Money Market Fund.
Goldman Sachs' asset management arm had $203 billion of assets under management on Sept. 30, the SEC filing said.
- Cheryl Winokur
