Short Takes: Credit Suisse Division Bolsters 401(k) Offering

Credit Suisse Asset Management is looking to increase its presence in the U.S. 401(k) market.

CSAM, a division of Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group, said it plans to attract large plan sponsors from the ranks of Fortune 500 companies by offering customized asset allocation tools to their plan participants.

To that end, CSAM of New York has formed a partnership with 401(k) Forum, a San Francisco on-line financial adviser, to offer a new product dubbed 401(k) Guidance Online, said Robert Birnbaum, a CSAM managing director. CSAM in alliance with Warburg Pincus Asset Management manages $3 billion of 401(k) assets but aims to double this total by yearend 2000, Mr. Birnbaum said.

Plan participants will be able to calculate factors like risk tolerance with the same precision as professionals, Mr. Birnbaum said.

"The idea is to duplicate what an informed professional guidance resource might do for you," he said.

Last February Credit Suisse agreed to buy Warburg Pincus for $650 million, cementing its alliance with the New York asset manager. The deal is expected to close in July, said Mr. Birnbaum.

CSAM manages pension assets of $154 billion globally.

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