At the Bell

Activist pressures Brantley fund

Phillip Goldstein, a shareholder activist, is trying to force Brantley Capital Corp., a closed-end fund, to link its management fees to the performance of its stock.

Mr. Goldstein, president of investment firm Kimball & Winthrop Inc. in Pleasantville, N.Y., filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining his plans to hold a shareholder vote on changing the fee structure. He has accumulated 5.1% of the stock of Cleveland-based Brantley, which invests in non-public securities.

Mr. Goldstein says that because Brantley’s stock is trading lower than it was when the $35 million fund was created at a discount to its net asset value, the fund’s advisers should reduce their fees until the stock price rises.

ABA unit seeks U.S. insurer charter

The ABA Insurance Association, an affiliate of the American Bankers Association, is the first industry group to draft possible legislation allowing optional federal chartering of insurance companies. Other industry groups are working on drafting their own plans, indicating that the issue may be moving up on Washington’s agenda next year.

The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, is holding a symposium Dec. 14 in Washington on the issue of federal regulation of insurance.

Deutsche Bank completes offer

Deutsche Bank AG announced Friday the completion of the tender offer to acquire the common stock of National Discount Brokers Group Inc. in Jersey City, N.J., at $49 a share.

About 16.8 million shares of NDB, or about 80% of the company’s outstanding shares, were tendered at a cost of $823 million.

Deutsche Bank now owns about 96% of the outstanding NDB shares.

Pilgrim’s chairman gets $31.2 million

Harold Baxter, chairman of Pilgrim Baxter & Associates Ltd., a United Asset Management Corp. affiliate, cashed in warrants and options worth $31.2 million as a result of Boston-based UAM’s September sale to South African insurer Old Mutual PLC, according to a recent proxy filing by PBHG Funds Inc.

Mr. Baxter signed a long-term employment agreement that includes phantom equity in the advisory company. In addition, Old Mutual renegotiated a revenue-sharing agreement in which Mr. Baxter received an undisclosed cash payment in exchange for a smaller interest in Wayne, Pa.-based Pilgrim Baxter’s revenues.

Correction

In last week’s One on One column with Lincoln E. Anderson, the name of his company was misspelled. The correct spelling is Linsco/Private Ledger Corp.