Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves: Merrill to Clone Two McCall Funds

Eager to boost sales, Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) is preparing to clone its two funds, run by vaunted large-cap growth specialist Jim McCall, which essentially mimic the two funds he ran at his old firm, PBHG.

Although the new entities bring McCall's fund tally to four, he'll still only be running two portfolios, according to preliminary paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. That's because the two new funds, Mercury Premier Growth and Mercury Focus 20, will invest their assets in Merrill Lynch Premier Growth and Focus Twenty, the two McCall funds Merrill launched last month. Merrill's Focus 20 has $668 million in assests, while Premier Growth has $102 million.

The SEC is reviewing the funds paperwork and Merrill hopes to launch them toward the end of March, according to a spokesman. ...