The Nielsen Monitor-Plus figures for mutual fund advertising spending in the first five months of the year are in. The top three big spenders will look oddly familiar to those who follow the industry.

With nearly half the year over, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton are on track to finish as one, two, and three respectively, just as they did in 2005 and 2006.

So far this year, T.Rowe has spent $29.6 million, Fidelity has spent $17.3 million, and Franklin has spent $14.1 million.

The rest of the top ten spenders from 2006--American Century, Vanguard, MassMutual Life, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and BofA--remained largely unchanged in 2007, though rankings shifted around a bit between the same names. Only one fund firm, Charles Schwab, was was knocked out of the top te. Its number 10 spot was usurped by State Street.

Some notable small fund firms found in the top 25 were Ariel Capital Management, WisdomTree Investments, and ProFunds.  

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