MutualFundWire.com: Odd Lots, May 13, 1999

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Thursday, May 13, 1999

Odd Lots, May 13, 1999

Citi Rethinks Pushing House Funds
From The Wall Street Journal
Some Citibank brokers report that they were shown a new compensation schedule that would have rewarded them for selling Citi funds over other funds. Citi told the WSJ that it did indeed consider changing its brokers' compensation and that some brokers may have been told of the thinking. However, it claims that a decision to reward the sale of proprietary funds was never finalized. Citi claims it wants to do right by its clients and will focus on boosting its returns to boost its sales. Still, subtle pressure may exist. Brokers told the WSJ that they must still file separate daily reports for sales of house and non-proprietary funds.

Fido Looks to Boost Sales at Banks
From The Boston Herald
Fidelity's sales of funds through banks are up 70% over the past 12 months, and the Boston giant is looking for more. It has appointed three new sales managers to the channel. William O'Grady, a Fidelity executive vice president told the Herald that "We are taking market share from our competition." He believes that American Funds and MFS are Fidelity's top competitors in the channel.

Funds in the Press

The Boston Herald tells of Donald Yacktman sticking to his "value" guns through the long "growth" market.