Dreyfus is refreshing the Lion Rules campaign with new imagery on TV, print, and collateral materials. "We want to reinforce that consumers have more money, and making investment decisions is more difficult," said Stephen Burke, president of marketing and advertising. (added 4:45 PM 2/20)

The Reserve Funds has redesigned and upgraded its web site with a section for investment advisors, interactive features for investors and more product information in a Literature Section. "We wanted to enhance our existing web site with valuable shareholder services that are more consistent with our innovative company history," said Eric S. Lansky, director of marketing. (added 4:15 PM 2/20)

OppenheimerFunds has taken the wraps off Select Managers, a series of six non-proprietary funds targeting its retirement plan clients, said Kathleen Beichert, vice president, and director of product management, retirement plans at OppenheimerFunds. The six funds are: OSM-Salomon Brothers Capital Fund, OSM-Mercury Advisors Focus Growth Fund, OSM-Mercury Advisors S&P 500 Index Fund, The OSM-Jennison Growth Fund, OSM-QM Active Balanced Fund, OSM-Gartmore Millennium Growth Fund. (added 4:00 PM 2/20)

Merrill Lynch has completed all transactions associated with their outsourcing agreement with State Street for its mutual funds (See "Merrill Sends Accounting to State Street"). (added 4:00 PM 2/20)

The typical family has net financial assets (including retirement accounts) of $9,850, reports the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). The research was funded by Bank of America Foundation. The report also found that the typical household has net assets of $71,700 -- most representing home equity. Surveyed people rated "participating in an employer's retirement plan" and "saving a fixed amount each month" as the most useful savings programs. (added 11:00 AM 2/20)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will sell mutual funds through China Construction Bank. reports the Xinhua news agency. The American firm plans to train Chinese staff in marketing, customer-services and human resources. Other details of the deal were not reported. (added 11:00 AM 2/20)

ByAllAccounts, (Woburn, Massachusetts) has released its WebPortfolio aggregation product for financial institutions. The service claims Scudder Investments, 1st Global and CCC Alliance as its initial clients. (added 11:00 AM 2/20)

Deutsche Bank has backed away from its plans to buy a US active stock fund manager to complement its Bankers Trust business reports Bloomberg. CEO Rolf Breuer told the news service that US fund managers are too expensive at this time. The news follows a similar decision made by Commerzbank last month. (added 10:00 AM 2/20)

Merrill Lynch has hopped on the aggregation bandwagon with its new "My Financial Picture" service. The service is part of both Merrill Lynch Online and Merrill Lynch Direct. The service is powered by Yodlee.com, and is reported to be one of the fastest growing features ever offered by the brokerage firm. (added 10:00 AM 2/20)

Mercer Investment Consulting is tapping Russell/Mellon Analytical Services to build upgrade its institutional investment manager performance evaluation database. Mercer will provide the service to its US clients. Mercer plans to put more emphasis on interpreting performance in the future. Conversion to the Russell/Mellon system will begin this month, and it is expected that all third-quarter reports will be processed through the new system beginning this fall.

Vignette, an Internet application provider headquartered in Austin, Texas, announced a content management deal with New York Life Insurance. The news is part of a one-week flurry of new business arrangements, including T. Rowe Price and Prudential. (added 10:00 AM 2/20)  

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