In Brief: CUNA Mutual Getting Out of Funds Business

Because of the lack of sales, CUNA Mutual Group on May 12 will close the line of mutual funds it has offered in conjunction with T. Rowe Price since Jan. 1, 1994.

The three CUNA Mutual Funds - the U.S. Government Income Fund, the Tax- Free Intermediate Fund, and the Cornerstone Fund - attracted less than 500 accounts with $2.3 million in investments.

"It was never an issue of the funds' performance," said John Bielski, marketing and operations manager at CUNA Mutual Funds Management Co. "It's still an excellent value for the member; it just wasn't widely accepted."

Mr. Bielski said it was too much to overcome "being a new fund without a track record coming out when the market was declining."

Because members tend to trust their credit union and feel a sense of loyalty, CUNA Mutual was betting they would go for the no-load funds sold by direct mail.

"We did have some idea that the affinity would play in our favor, but in retrospect I don't know how strong the affinity was on this particular product," Mr. Bielski said. "In mutual funds, we were entering a new area."

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