Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves: AIM Funds Nabs Garcia

Tech stocks may have cooled lately, but the job market for tech managers is as hot as ever. Now we know where one of the category's few graybeards has landed.

On Tuesday, we noted that Abel Garcia left Waddell & Reed where he'd managed (UNSCX Quote)United Science & Technology for 16 years. Naturally, Waddell & Reed was mum on where Garcia went.

Last night Houston-based AIM Funds announced they'd nabbed him. This week he joined the management team on AIM's struggling (GTTCX Quote)Global Telecommunications and Technology fund.

The fund ranks in the bottom quarter of the tech fund category over the past one-, three-, and five-year periods, according to Morningstar, but that's not all the current team's fault. AIM took over the fund in 1998 when it bought GT Global and the fund's current team took the reins last year.

The fund formerly focused primarily on the telecom sector and its lingering telecom flavor appears to have held it back. Its 24.7% annualized return over the past five years trails the S&P 500 and 86% of the fund's peers, according to Morningstar. In 1999 the fund returned a whopping 108%, but still trailed the average tech fund, which rose a stunning 135%.

Garcia's style was a bit conservative on United Science & Technology, where he didn't fully commit to tech stocks either, holding a smattering of telecom and health care stocks too. Still, his old fund stayed slightly ahead of his new fund over the years.

Shareholders are probably happy for any change right now. Their fund didn't rise as high as counterparts last year and it has fallen further during the market's recent storm. Over the past month, the fund has lost more than 27%, according to Morningstar. That trails 60% of the tech fund pack.

Two New Net Funds Hope the Storm Has Passed

Hot on the heels of last week's steep technology and Net stock selloff, two fledgling fund shops are fearlessly rolling out new Net funds.

Wednesday night, Houston-based iMillennium Capital announced the launch of its eponymous Net fund, run by Chief Executive and rookie fund manager Omar Rivero. TheStreet.com previewed the fund on March 30.

Also on Wednesday, e-harmon Funds of San Francisco filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing plans to launch its Internet fund on May 16. Prior to that, investors can reserve launch-day shares at $10 each in a subscription period that starts Monday. The fund, co-managed by Net guru and rookie money manager Steve Harmon, was previewed on March 23.

e-harmon also plans to launch the Net30 Index, which will invest in the 30 Net companies ranked by total revenue. The index fund could launch with the Internet fund next month, but its filings don't disclose a launch date.

These funds are the first offered by both companies.

Meyer Takes Reins on Invesco G&I

Fritz Meyer has moved up from co-manager to lead manager of $175 million (IVGIX Quote)Invesco Growth & Income, the firm announced last night.

He succeeds Trent May, who will continue to work on the fund in addition to overseeing the $50 billion Denver fund shop's large-cap growth managers. May and Meyer have co-managed the fund since it launched in June 1998.

Over the past year, the pair has posted a 31% return, which beats most large-cap growth funds and the S&P 500 by almost 19 percentage points, according to Morningstar. But their sizable bets on tech and health care stocks have made for a bumpy ride lately.

The fund is down about 14% over the past month, trailing nearly 75% of its large-cap peers, according to Morningstar. Also, despite its name, the fund isn't paying any quarterly income, according to Invesco's Web site.

See Wednesday's Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves.

See Tuesday's Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves.

See Monday's Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves.