PRODUCT WATCH

Roxbury index portfolios geared to beat S&P 500

Roxbury Capital Management is offering Index Plus portfolios designed to mirror the industry weightings of Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index and still beat the index after taxes and management fees. Investment minimum for each portfolios is $1 million.

The portfolios are based on a method developed by Robert Haugen, professor of finance at the University of California, Irvine, that estimates expected returns of individual stocks by gauging their price history, liquidity and other factors. Back-testing suggests the technique will beat the S&P by 1.5 percentage points — more than enough to offset taxes and Roxbury’s 80-basis-point fee.

The San Clemente, Calif., company may make the portfolios available through broker/dealer wrap accounts, says managing director Ronald J. Surz.

Hartford adds Mentor portfolios

Hartford Life Insurance Co. has introduced a version of its top-selling Director variable annuity. Like the Director, the new Director Select offers portfolios managed by Wellington Management Co. and Hartford’s investment management arm.

But it also offers three portfolios managed by Mentor Investment Group and Mentor Perpetual Advisors. The product, which has no front-end sales charge, is being distributed for Simsbury, Conn.-based Hartford by Everen Securities Inc. and Wheat First Union, a division of Wheat First Securities Inc.

Retirement counselor designation offered

The College for Financial Planning has released curriculum materials for the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor program. The program helps financial professionals meet continuing education requirements and offers a new designation as a retirement planning expert.

The 11-module course may be taken individually or as a complete program. Approximately eight hours of study time is required for each module’s self-study formatted study guides. Nationally administered examinations will cover all 11 modules, and self-examination can be administered for the individual modules, starting Aug. 1.

The new designation is awarded after passing proctored a exam and agreeing to adhere to a code of ethics. The program has been approved for 45 continuing education credit hours for certified financial planner licensees.

Software aims to show where sales payoff is

Merrill Corp. has introduced a new software system called MerrillConnect that tracks the mutual fund sales process from lead to sale. It helps companies determine exactly who its investors are and what prompted their inquiries.

The front-end Windows-based system compiles and organizes various types of customer information. The resulting sales data are cross-checked with the lead profiles, correlating the information and generating a sales report associating the sale with the lead. Once the connection has been established, companies are able to determine which marketing tactics produced the best results.

New Morgan fund holds global top 50

J.P. Morgan & Co. has launched a mutual fund comprising its 50 best stock picks from around the world. J.P. Morgan Global 50 Equity Fund will include picks from the New York banking company’s 85 research analysts who follow more than 2,500 stocks in 22 nations for its 40 portfolios. Andrew Cormie, a vice president, will manage the fund with input from the 85 analysts. J.P. Morgan manages about $15 billion in mutual fund assets.

Educators suggest education IRA

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund has introduced an education IRA. Single taxpayers with no more than $95,000 in income and joint filers with annual earnings of $150,000 or less can contribute up to $500 a year per child from birth to age 18.

CDA/Wiesenberger has online prospectus

CDA/Wiesenberger of Rockville, Md., has entered into a joint agreement with InUnity Corp. to offer that firm’s Digital Direct Prospectus to CDA’s mutual fund and insurance companies and broker-dealer clients. The service provides an electronic version of a prospectus, enabling issuers and broker-dealers to distribute compliance and marketing data.

European news going Deutsche

Deutsche Fund Management Inc. has launched a web site providing up-to-the-minute news from Dow Jones on events affecting investments in Europe and around the world.The site, www.deutsche-funds.com, also offers investors a look at factors driving European market performance based on information from parent Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt, Germany.

Send product news and information to Wendy Hong at InvestmentNews, 220 E. 42nd St., Ninth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017-5846.