Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves: RS Plans Another Fund for Callinan

Jim Callinan is one of the hottest growth managers in the mutual fund business right now, and RS Investment Management plans to heap a new fund on his plate.

RS, the San Francisco investment-management arm of Robertson Stephens, filed a preliminary prospectus Friday for a new Callinan fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, Callinan's (RSEGX Quote)RS Emerging Growth posted a 182.5% return, and he won Morningstar's coveted Domestic-Equity Manager of the Year honor. Emerging Growth focuses on small- and mid-caps, but the new Aggressive Growth fund will allow him to seek growth in companies of any size.

The new fund's broader focus will give him more room to invest in bigger, more liquid stocks, which could be a boon since investors are making a habit of sending him money. When Callinan left Putnam Investments to take over RS Emerging Growth in 1996, the fund had $193 million in assets. At the end of 1999, the fund had $3.6 billion. He also manages more than $800 million in private accounts. Many small-cap funds have closed at lower asset levels, and some say the fund should close before its assets cause its returns to drag. ...