At the Bell

Fidelity lays off 160 from adviser unit

* Fidelity Investments, the world’s biggest mutual fund company, has eliminated 9.1% of the jobs in its group that caters to advisers. Company spokeswoman Anne Crowley says that the 160 positions were cut Thursday, but service to advisers will not be affected.

“We didn’t target a specific group,” she says. “The cuts were pretty much spread across the division.” Boston-based Fidelity is the latest asset manager to resort to layoffs. Ms. Crowley says there is no companywide mandate to trim costs.

Amex to consult on ETFs for a fee

* The American Stock Exchange is selling a consulting package to financial services companies looking to get into the business of exchange-traded funds. In the past, the Amex has been a consultant but did not charge a fee. The new group will also sell data about ETFs.

The Amex, home to 103 ETFs, this week plans to announce the new group, called Amex ETF Services LLC, says Bill Louie, a product manager in New York. He says that the new group will walk its clients through the process of creating and trading an ETF, from filing with regulators to the nuances of redeeming a fund.

Unger urges action on securities fees

* Laura Unger, the acting Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, wrote last week to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., urging him to schedule floor action on a bill approved by the House by a vote of 404-22 in June that would reduce securities fees and raise SEC staff salaries.

Provisions in the bill “are essential to responding to the commission’s current staffing crisis,” Ms. Unger said in the letter.

In the last three years, more than 1,000 employees, more than a third of the staff, have left the commission, she noted.

She also pointed out that the Senate passed a similar bill in March.

Analyst group asks for conflict data

* The Association of Investment Management and Research last week asked its members to comment on an issues paper dealing with conflicts of interest for research analysts, who have been under attack for bias throughout the market’s plummet over the past year.

AIMR, an analyst organization in Charlottesville, Va., asked whether analysts should be allowed to collaborate in investment banking assignments, a major source of income for some analysts as well as a major source of charges of bias.

It also asked whether buy-side clients such as portfolio managers affect the independence of analysts.

Another question was whether analysts should be permitted to own securities of companies they follow.

Over the last week, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. of New York and Edward D. Jones & Co. of St. Louis adopted policies of banning analysts from owning stock in the companies they cover.

1st Union gets edge in Wachovia bids

* As the premium of SunTrust Banks Inc.’s stock offer for Wachovia Corp. has further eroded, First Union Corp. has gained the upper hand in the merger battle, analysts say.

First Union of Charlotte, N.C., got a boost last week when it showed better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Atlanta’s SunTrust also reported stronger-than-expected earnings the week before.

First Union reported net income of $633 million, or 64 cents a share, which includes charges of $16 million, mostly related to restructuring.

That’s compared with a second-quarter loss last year of $2.2 billion, or $2.27 a share.

SunTrust’s bid would give Wachovia shareholders a 2% premium over First Union’s offer.

As a result of that premium, Christopher Mutascio at Legg Mason Inc. in Baltimore thinks shareholders of the Winston-Salem, N.C., bank will approve the merger with First Union when they vote Aug. 3.