Strong Financial has made its second pickup of a fund this year. The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based fund firm is taking over portfolio management and distribution for State Street Research's Tax-Exempt Fund. The fund will be redubbed the Strong Advisor Municipal Bond Fund in February 2003 as part of the agreement. The merging still needs shareholder approval.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The fund has some $286 million in assets and will become the sixteenth offering in Strong's new lineup of load funds.

In September Strong made a similar deal with Rockhaven Asset Management. In that deal it picked up two funds, which have since been absorbed into Strong Advisor Large Company Core Fund and the Strong Large Company Growth Fund.

Strong's Duane McAllister will take over portfolio management of the Fund on November 15.

"We are excited to be able to offer a high-grade municipal bond fund to our financial advisor and broker-dealer clients," says Randy Henze, director of intermediary services for Strong. "We expect that our solid track record in investment-grade municipal securities will be quite appealing for our intermediary clients and their investors."  

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