Fidelity to Restart Marketing Effort For Wrap Account

Fidelity Investors is renewing marketing this month for an upscale wrap account.

Promotion for the Portfolio Advisory Services Special Option account - which lets clients buy individual securities, as well as invest in funds - was suspended early last year.

The Boston mutual fund giant wanted to "really decide whether to make an effort to support" the account, said Andus Baker, a Fidelity vice president.

Fidelity has also developed lists of acceptable stocks and bonds to avoid investing in thinly traded securities.

The special option account, launched in 1996, has a $500,000 minimum. The parent account, Portfolio Advisory Services, uses only mutual funds - both Fidelity's and third-party funds - and has a $200,000 minimum.

The objective of the special option account is to diversify portfolios by eventually selling individual securities and investing the proceeds in mutual funds. These transactions are to be done on a tax-sensitive basis to minimize capital gains liabilities.

The account charges a maximum annual fee of 110 basis points, and it has 600 clients, whose average investment is $1 million, Mr. Baker said.