So how is a small or midsize fund to compete with the big boys? Of course innovative marketing, good press and charismatic managers appearing over and over again on CNBC helps a lot, but then what to do when the calls start pouring in? Intek Information, Inc. has launched one solution for these spikes in call volume and for sales and marketing calls in general, offering outsourcing to registered phone reps using its new IMPACT system.

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Intek Information has benefited from the growing trend to outsource teledistribution services by signing up several large clients including Fidelity, Amex, Keycorp, American Century, and Morgan Stanley. But all of these clients have more than enough call volume to require dedicated service reps. So in order to address the lower-volume market of small-midsize to larger-midsize fund companies, Intek recently introduced its IMPACT product.

"IMPACT provides a turnkey solution ... (for) companies that are not used to handling a high volume of calls day-in and day-out," said Pat O'Neal, managing director of Intek. "When a money manager or fund gets written up in a national magazine, for example, call volume for a short period can overwhelm the firm's customer service, destroying the acquisition and retention opportunities these calls present. It's very hard for any but the largest fund complexes to take such spikes in stride."

According to O'Neal, about 10% of all tele-servicing is outsourced, and 90% of Intek's business is newly outsourced.

IMPACT makes NASD licensed service reps available to those fund companies that would not ordinarily warrant a large number of reps, with technology available that is often too expensive for the fund companies to own and operate on their own.

The cost is reduced for Intek by the sales reps being shared among several fund families; 12 reps would usually be used for 6-8 fund families. The target is funds or fund families with about $500 million to $3-4 billion under management and about 200-1200 calls per week.

The Trust Company of the West (TCW) is the first to sign up for the IMPACT system for its Galileo Funds, and David Pritchard, the director of advisor services seems pleased with IMPACT's impact.

"We've been extremely impressed with the service so far," said Pritchard. "IMPACT has given us one client-centric database which allows us to concentrate on money management ... There was no way I wanted to set up a call center and link it to fulfillment, at this point."

Prichard added that the call center has a hot-button linked to DST, the transfer agent for the funds, and vice-versus, in order to assure that the right calls are sent to the appropriate center.

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