There could be some reshuffling of back-office assignments for Chase Manhattan Corp.'s proprietary Vista mutual fund family next year.
The reason? New York-based Chase has agreed to buy the securities processing businesses of crosstown rival U.S. Trust Corp. in a complicated stock swap valued at $363.5 million.
One of the businesses Chase will pick up is a U.S. Trust unit that provides the same type of mutual fund administration, shareholder recordkeeping, and portfolio accounting that Chase now hands off to outsiders for its Vista mutual fund family.
Mutual fund experts said Chase is likely to bring these services in-house after the acquisition, both to save money on fees and as a sort of personal testimonial in marketing the services to other companies.
Chase senior vice president Francisco D. Valeriano said the banking company was not yet prepared to comment on whether it would, indeed, bring the services in-house.
But Mr. Valeriano did say that the mutual fund accounting business is a critical part of the acquisition.
Chase doesn't currently provide this service. But the company wants to as a way of complementing the custody work for mutual fund portfolios that it already does. Chase is a leading mutual fund custodian.
At the end of 1993, U.S. Trust's Mutual Fund Service Co., which is based in Boston, handled regulatory filings and compliance reviews for 137 mutual funds with $24 billion of assets. This service is known as mutual fund administration.
The unit also handled portfolio accounting for 259 funds with $159 billion of assets, and also had a sizable shareholder recordkeeping business.
Chase currently taps DST Systems Inc., Kansas City, for shareholder recordkeeping and portfolio accounting for the Vista funds. Concord Holding Corp, New York, helps Chase administer the funds.
