Bank One Corp. sales of investment products rose 29% from the fourth quarter to the first.
The Chicago company said it sold $1.2 billion of mutual funds, stocks and bonds, and fixed and variable annuities in the latest quarter. 
Sales of investment products have soared in recent years, said Robin Yocum, the executive vice president in charge of investment product sales. The company sold $4.1 billion of investment products last year, 373% more than in 1995, and is on target to top $5 billion in investment sales this year, he said.
He attributed the success to an aggressive marketing plan.
Sales of the One Group Mutual Funds, one of the top 25 mutual fund families in the country, totaled $153.4 million in the first quarter, up 30% from a year earlier. The bank manages $270 billion of assets.
"We have been working hard to educate customers that a bank is not just a place to open a checking account," Mr. Yocum said. The effort "been successful, and we are making significant strides to reach our goal by cross-selling products to customers."
An increase in the number of brokers selling investment products thanks to Bank One's 1998 merger with First Chicago NBD Corp. has also aided investment product sales, Mr. Yocum said.
The bank has 3,000 employees qualified to sell investment products in 1,800 branch offices. That's up from 1,100 qualified representatives in 450 branch offices five years ago.
Bank One is emphasizing packaged products to boost sales further, Mr. Yocum said. Wrap accounts, which contain mutual funds and annuities, are popular with customers looking to mitigate risk.
Bank One sells securities through its broker-dealer subsidiary, Banc One Securities Group of Plano, Tex.; and annuities through Banc One Insurance Agency Inc. in Milwaukee.
