Bloomberg News
NEW YORK - E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., the world's largest chemical company, is following the lead of other industrial companies, such as General Electric Co. and AMR Corp., and entering the money management business.
Du Pont is initially offering two portfolios to institutions, such as pension funds, and has no immediate plans for mutual funds.
"I think you're going to see this increasing among the very largest of the corporate pension fund managers," said Burton Greenwald, a Philadelphia mutual fund consultant. "This is a way to diversify and build a handsome profit center."
Du Pont Capital Management already manages the company's $18 billion employee pension fund with a team of 49 employees. In the past year the unit has won mandates from two Du Pont spinoffs, including Conoco Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, to manage part of their pension funds.
