AT THE BELL

‘Coach’ Schwab irks advisers

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. has taken early steps to calm advisers who fear the San Francisco supermart is trying to poach business, by writing them “to reiterate our respect for the relationship between you and your clients.” The letter, dated May 22, comes in the wake of accusations that some Schwab branch employees have called clients of advisers who use Schwab as a custodian and referred them to advisers on Schwab’s AdvisorSource network. But in last week’s Business Week, David Pottruck, Schwab’s co-chief executive, was quoted as saying his company wants to look more like a full-service brokerage and “coach people on investing.” That contradicts the letter, says one adviser. Taney Brazeal, director of investment research with Haines Financial Advisors Inc., says the Birmingham, Ala., firm is considering switching custodians. “They’re definitely sending signals they want to be in the business of giving financial advice,” he says. A Schwab spokesman emphasized the firm does not want to compete with fee-based financial advisers.

A radical reentry for Berkeley

Berkeley Capital Management is re-entering the retail marketplace it left four years ago when its affiliate, John Govett & Co., was sold. The San Francisco-based subsidiary of London Pacific Group Ltd. last week filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its first retail stock fund, the Berkeley Income Equity Fund. The portfolio, to be managed by Berkeley veteran James E. Landau, will invest in high-yielding names in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that it believes are undervalued. Executives expect to launch two more stock funds within a year.

Don’t unload the Van

After months of delays, the Van Kampen American Capital Inc. fund unit of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. has settled on a brand name. It will become — ta-da — Van Kampen Investments Inc. and sell Van Kampen Funds. Flashier names considered included Navigator Funds and Archer Funds (InvestmentNews, May 11). “In doing our research we found that there was a lack of a trademark-free desirable name and customers told us they didn’t want a significant change,” said a Van Kampen spokeswoman. The firm’s mutual funds — including those advised by Morgan Stanley’s Morgan Stanley Asset Management and Miller Anderson & Sherrerd units — will adopt the new name by late summer. Van Kampen will launch a $15 million national ad campaign in early fall.

Timeout in State Street case

A hearing on the pregnancy discrimination complaint of a former State Street Global Advisors manager was adjourned last week to allow time to negotiate a settlement. The Boston-based company, which manages $399 billion, was hit with the complaint in May 1994. Lisa Chui, a manager of fixed-income operations, alleges that her job was given to another employee after she returned from a 10-week maternity leave. She eventually regained her old job, but alleges her boss retaliated by giving her a poor evaluation. A spokeswoman for parent State Street Corp. declined to comment. Ms. Chui’s lawyer was not available at press time.

Joint venture moving fast

The joint venture between New York’s Warburg Pincus Asset Management and Credit Suisse Group announced last week is expected to launch three new Warburg Pincus mutual funds in the United States by the fall. They will be managed by Credit Suisse and are likely to be growth-oriented global equity portfolios. The new venture also plans to offer funds managed by Warburg Pincus in Britain and Japan under the Credit Suisse name, which is better known there. In addition, it expects to form a new offshore fund group using managers from both partners.

Etc.: A signature development

John Hancock Retirement Services has created a new service it says is a first: The service explains all fees associated with 401(k) plans and those which participants actually pay. The unit will write to each plan participant outlining the plan selected, the 12b-1 fee, sales charge and asset/wrap charge as well as all administrative costs and loan fees . . . SunAmerica Inc. said it is moving to dismiss a federal lawsuit by American Express Financial Advisors on the strength of a recent National Association of Securities Dealers arbitration panel decision denying Amex’s requests for an injunction and damages in a four-year-old dispute over SunAmerica’s recruiting practices. . .Pittsburgh’s Federated Investors Inc. is slated to launch an Arizona Municipal Cash Trust fund today, bringing its tally of state-specific money market funds to 17. The company’s stock price dropped to almost $18 a share on Friday, down 6.5% from its IPO price of $19. . .The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 9000 mark Friday for the first time since May 26, gaining 167.15 points to 9037.71, up 1.5% for the week.

Correction

A June 1 article looking at the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on bank mergers misspelled the name of Phyllis Salowe-Kaye.