ATTHEBELL

401(k)-type plans top $1 trillion

Defined contribution assets, including 401(k) plans, of the nation’s 1,000 largest employee benefit funds hit $1 trillion for the first time, according to research by InvestmentNews sister publication Pensions & Investments. Assets climbed to $1.046 trillion at the end of September, an increase of 15.3% from a year earlier. The growth helped push total U.S. retirement assets of the top 1,000 to $4.392 trillion, a rise of 7.1%, even as employers continued to pay out more from their defined benefit pension plans than they

contributed. Defined benefit assets climbed 4.7% to $3.346 trillion.

Chicago Merc head steps down

Chicago Mercantile Exchange president Eric Kilcollin is leaving the nation’s second-biggest futures mart, reflecting organizational and technological pressures on the business. Mr. Kilcollin, 49, took the top post two years ago after longtime president William Brodsky moved to head the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Mr. Kilcollin says he will seek a new job in the industry. Floor traders in Chicago speculated Mr. Kilcollin — a well-regarded economist — may bid to succeed Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairwoman Brooksley Born, who says that she will leave the federal agency when her term expires in April.

Opportunity knocked In Brazil

Some institutional money managers are taking advantage of Brazil’s currency devaluation to buy shares on the cheap. AIB-Govett, which has $300 million invested in Latin America, bought shares in Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA, the telephone company of Sao Paulo, and Compania Vale do Rio Doce, an iron ore producer, the day before devaluation was announced, reports InvestmentNews sister publication Pensions & Investments. Babson-Stewart Ivory International bought into Brazilian telecommunications and electricity sectors for “a couple of hours,” after the announcement, says Katie Lundy, a Latin America specialist in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company halted after it felt “the market overreact,” she says.

Montgomery word: Take a hike

San Francisco’s Montgomery Asset Management is being given its walking papers as one of two subadvisers of Norwalk, Conn.-based Managers Funds’ Emerging Markets Equity Fund. London-based King Street Advisors Ltd. will continue as the $4.1-million fund’s sole subadviser. Thomas Hoffman, director of research at the manager of $1.8 billion in 10 no-load mutual funds, says it cannot justify paying two subadvisers for such a small fund. Launched last February, the fund ranks 38 in a sector of 125, according to Morningstar Inc., the Chicago fund tracker. Montgomery officials decline comment.

Roth bill ups Clinton ante

Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth (R-Del.) introduced a bill similar to President Clinton’s proposal to use 62% of the federal budget surplus over the next five years — some $650 billion to $1.2 trillion — to fund personal retirement accounts for all workers earning over $3,000 a year. Minimum wage earners would receive $1,850 over the five-year program. The president’s proposal is limited to lower and middle-income workers.

Alliance Cap takes over fund

Alliance Capital Management LP is set to take control of its Korean partner, $550 million-asset Hanwha Securities Co. Ltd. The New York money manager, which has been striking joint venture agreements around the world, owns 20% of the Hanwha Group conglomerate’s unit. Alliance is registering offshore funds in Korea and expects to distribute them through the renamed Alliance Capital Management (Korea) Ltd.

AMG beating expectations

Affiliated Managers Group Inc., of Boston, which buys majority stakes in money management firms, says it will announce higher-than-expected earnings on Wednesday. The company, which manages $62 billion, says fourth-quarter profits will be up to 40% above the average 29-cent-a-share estimate of analysts. The stock was trading just under its high for the year of $33, after dropping below $27 on Jan. 13.

Dain names boss for Northwest

Dain Rauscher Inc. appointed Karl V. Leaverton as chief of its 200 retail brokers in the Pacific Northwest, succeeding Jim Kerr. Mr. Kerr left this month to become president of Ragen MacKenzie Group Inc. The Minneapolis securities firm ranks 16th in the nation with 1,270 registered reps. Mr. Leaverton will continue as director of the Midwest region on an interim basis.

SEC seminar for fund directors

The role of independent investment company directors is the subject of a roundtable to be held Feb. 23-24 at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s offices in Washington. It’s open to the public. Topics include how to negotiate fees and expenses with fund advisers.