Archive of Manager Changes
(Manager changes on this page were posted from the
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• Originally posted July 2008
  
  American Century Fundamental Equity: The management team of Jerry Sullivan and Robert Brookby is gone -- off to join Putnam (see below). The new managers of this fund are Gregory Woodhams, Prescott Legard, Justin Brown and Joe Reiland. [7/08]
  
  BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity: Neil Wagner and Eileen Leary leave this three-person team. Continuing manager Andrew Thut is joined by Andrew Leger. [7/08]
  
  BlackRock Small/Mid Cap Growth: Neil Wagner leaves this four-person team. Continuing managers Andrew Thut, Andrew Leger and Rob Hallisey will carry on without Wagner. [7/08]
  
  Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth: Here's one we missed: Lead manager Emery Brewer retired on December 31, 2007, and Howard Schwab now runs this fund solo. [7/08; thanks to "BWG," who alerted us to this change in a post on the FundAlarm Discussion Board]
  
  Fairholme: Here's another one we missed: Back in March 2008, Larry Pitkowsky stepped down as comanager. Bruce Berkowitz and Keith Trauner continue in charge, joined by Charles Fernandez and Paul Thomson. [7/08; thanks to "tgeno," who alerted us to this change in a post on the FundAlarm Discussion Board]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Asset Manager (20%/30%/40%/50%/60%/85%): See Fidelity Asset Manager, below. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Short Fixed-Income: See Fidelity Short-Term Bond, below. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Asset Manager (20%/30%/40%/50%/60%/70%/85%): Richard Habermann retires as comanager, after 40 years with Fidelity (Habermann is referred to internally as "The Dude Who's Older Than The Big Mac"). Derek Young now runs these funds solo. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity International Small Cap: Tokuya Sano is out as manager of Japanese stocks, and Noriko Takahashi takes over. An April 2008 change saw Ben Paton leave as manager of European stocks, and Colin Stone replace him. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Select Banking: Manager Ramona Persaud heads for the revolving door, as Vincent Montemaggiore settles in (but not too firmly) to the managerial chair. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Short-Term Bond: Comanager Andrew Dudley is out, replaced by Robin Foley. (In March, Fido indicated that Dudley was on a leave of absence, but that apparently is no longer the case.) Lead manager Robert Galusza remains in charge. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Stock: Long-time manager Paul Antico reires, and Andrew Sassine takes over. [7/08]
  
  Fidelity Ultra Short Bond: Comanager Andrew Dudley is out, and lead manager Robert Galusza now runs this fund solo. [7/08]
  
  GAMCO Westwood SmallCap Equity: Elizabeth Lilly is out as manager, and Nicholas Galluccio replaces her (Galluccio is coming over from TCW -- see below). [7/08]
  
  Japan: The directors of this fund are about to do it again: Six years ago, the directors fired Scudder and hired current manager Fidelity to run this fund. Now, if the directors have their way, shareholders will vote in August to boot Fidelity, and Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. will take over. [7/08]
  
  MFS Global Growth: Nicholas Smithie leaves comanager Barry Dargan behind. Replacing Smithie is Jeffrey Constantino. [7/08]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street: Nikolaos Monoyios retires as comanager. Marc Reinganum (sorry, that's "Dr. Reinganum," according to the prospectus), continues as comanager, joined by Mark Zavanelli and Alex Zhou. [7/08]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street Opportunity: Nikolaos Monoyios retires as comanager. Mark Zavanelli continues as comanager, joined by Dr. Marc Reinganum . [7/08]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street Small Cap: See Oppenheimer Main Street Opportunity, above. [7/08]
  
  Putnam Capital Appreciation: Comanager Richard Cervone is leaving the firm, and lead manager/comanager James Wiess/Joseph Joseph are stepping aside to make room for the new team of Jerry Sullivan and Robert Brookby, who are coming over from American Century (above). [7/08]
  
  TCW Value Added: Nicholas Galluccio leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm (he is headed for GAMCO, specifically GAMCO Westwood SmallCap Equity -- see abovr). Galluccio is replaced by Darleen Boyle and Jay Gibbons; Galluccio's comanager, Susan Suvall, stays on, and rounds out the new team. [7/08]
  
  TCW Value Opportunities: Nicholas Galluccio leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Galluccio is replaced by Jay Gibbons; Galluccio's comanager, Susan Suvall, stays on, and will work with Gibbons. [7/08]
  
  Vanguard Capital Value: Manager David Fassnacht, of subadvisor Wellington Management, is no longer in charge. The fund's new boss is Peter Higgins, also of Wellington. [7/08]
  
  Vanguard Windsor: Manager David Fassnacht is no longer in charge of Wellington's portion of this fund. James Mordy now runs the Wellington slice. [7/08]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2008
  
  AMF bond funds (several): For each AMF fund below, David Petrosinelli leaves as a member of the same three-person management team, and David Adamson takes over for him (the continuing members of the team are Kevin Blaser and Beatriz Barros):
  
  

  Intermediate Mortgage Short U.S. Government Ultra Short Ultra Short Mortgage U.S. Government Mortgage [6/08]

  
  
  Evergreen Global Opportunities: Donald Bisson leaves as comanager. New comanager James Tringas joins continuing comanager Francis Claro. [6/08]
  
  Evergreen Mid Cap Growth: Donald Bisson leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Bisson must be feeling pretty good, because it's going to take a team of four managers to replace him: Robert Junkin, Kenneth Doerr, Lori Evans and Julian Johnson. Fortunately for Bisson, he only had "$10,001 - $50,000" invested in the entire Evergreen fund family at the time of his departure*, even though he had been affiliated with Evergreen since 1996. Lack of commitment like that makes it so much easier for a manager to move on. [6/08]
  * Actually, Bisson's meager holdings are as of 2/1/08, Evergreen's last official filing with the SEC. As of March 31, 2008, new managers Doerr, Evans and Johnson didn't have a penny invested in any Evergreen fund. Kind of makes Bisson look like a player, doesn't it?
  
  Evergreen Small-Mid Growth: See Evergreen Mid Cap Growth, above. [6/08]
  
  Fidelity Select funds (several):
  
  

  Select fund	Previous manager(s)	New manager
  Defense and Aerospace	Andrew Hatem	Maurice FitzMaurice
  Industrial Equipment	Vincent Montemaggiore	Jonathan Kasen
  Insurance	Stephen Hermsdorf	Brian Wilhelm
  Paper and Forest Products	John Sheehy/Justin Bennett	John Sheehy
  [6/08]

  
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Value: Thomas Hense is now ex-manager of this fund, as Charles Myers takes over. [6/08]
  
  Morgan Stanley Diversified International Equity: Sandip Bhagat leaves as comanager, and Feng Chang will now run this fund solo. [6/08]
  
  Morgan Stanley Diversified Large Cap Equity: See Morgan Stanley Diversified International Equity, above. [6/08]
  
  Morgan Stanley Dividend Growth: It's a clean sweep: all three managers of this fund are gone (Ira Ross, James Solloway and Edward Ripple), and a new four-person management team takes their place (Gregory Lai, Steven Pelensky, Michael Petrino, and Jordan Floriani). [6/08]
  
  Morgan Stanley Flexible Income Trust: Henry Choi leaves as a member of this four-person team. Steven Kreider replaces Choi. [6/08]
  
  Morgan Stanley High Yield Securities: Henry Choi leaves as comanager, and Steven Kreider will now run this fund solo. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen California Insured Tax-Free: Joseph Piraro leaves as a member of this three-person management team. Former teammates Mark Paris and Robert Stryker will now hold down the fort. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen Disciplined Small Cap Value: Managers Kathy O'Connor and Jeff Sanders bail out, and Feng Chang replaces them. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen Enterprise: Sandip Bhagat steps down as comanager. Remaining team members Feng Chang and Hooman Yaghoobi are now in charge. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen Equity Premium Income: Sandip Bhagat leaves as a member of this fund's five-person management team. Now there are four in charge, all continuing: Feng Chang, Hooman Yaghoobi, Teimur Abasov and Kamlum Shek. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen High Yield: See Morgan Stanley High Yield Securities, above. [6/08]
  
  Van Kampen Insured Tax-Free Income: Joseph Piraro leaves as a member of this three-person management team, and Mark Paris takes his place. [6/08]
  
  Wasatch Global Science & Technology: Noor Kamruddin steps down as manager, and also leaves the firm. Head honcho Sam Stewart takes over for Kamruddin, in what has to be considered a quick and (hopefully) interim replacement. Kamruddin's former comanager, Jim Gulbrandson, left this fund last fall, so it now has lost all links to its historical performance numbers. This is a personal holding of mine, and I probably won't sell. But this fund has been struggling of late and, if it doesn't pull out of its funk soon, this unusual (for Wasatch) manager turnover will be an added inducement for me to bail out. [6/08]
  
  Wasatch Small Cap Value: John Mazanec leaves as a member of this two-person team, and leaves the firm. Comanager Jim Larkins now runs this fund solo. [6/08]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2008
  
  American Century Real Estate: Scott Blasdell is out as manager. Former co-manager Kay Herr will now run this fund solo. [5/08]
  
  Fidelity Intermediate Government Securities: Brett Kozlowski is out as manager, and William Irving takes over. [5/08]
  
  Fidelity Mortgage Securities: See Fidelity Intermediate Government Securities, above. [5/08]
  
  Fidelity Southeast Asia: Allen Liu steps down as manager. He is replaced by Jess Tan. [5/08]
  
  ING Emerging Countries: Brandes Investment Partners is fired as subadvisor, and ING brings management of this fund in-house (subject to shareholder approval, the new manager is ING Investment Management Advisors). [5/08]
  
  JHancock Large Cap Equity: Timothy Keefe leaves as a member of this three-person team and leaves the firm, reportedly for a hedge fund. Keefe's remaining teammates (Roger Hamilton and Timothy Malloy) will press on without him. [5/08]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: TCW is removed as one of this fund's six subadvisors. The 20% of the portfolio formerly assigned to TCW is allocated evenly (10% each) to Sands Capital Management (Frank Sands, Jr./Michael Sramek) and Turner Investment Partners (Christopher McHugh/William McVail). [5/08]
  
  Masters' Select Focused Opportunities: TCW is removed as one of this fund's three subadvisors. The 33% of the portfolio that TCW had been managing is assigned to Sands Capital Management, with Frank Sands, Jr. and Michael Sramek handling the day-to-day chores for Sands. [5/08]
  
  Osterweis Fund: Michael Hughes leaves as a member of this five-person team, and leaves the firm. According to a prospectus supplement, filed with the SEC, Hughes is not being replaced, at least in the short run. [5/08]
  
  Osterweis Strategic Income: Gregory Hermanksi steps down as a member of this two-person team. Simon Lee replaces Hermanski, with Carl Kaufman continuing in the lead position. [change effective 1/08; posted 5/08]
  
  Putnam Equity Income: Austin Kairnes is out as assistant manager ("Portfolio Member," in Putnam-speak). Noah Rumpf replaces Kairnes, and Bartlett Geer continues as lead manager. [5/08]
  
  Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income: This fund's day-to-day manager (Morgan Asset Management) has essentially fired itself, and Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management will take over in July, pending shareholder approval. This fund has suffered disastrous losses related to mortgage-backed securities, which makes us ponder: If the soon-to-be-former managers of this fund were indeed picking the "select" high income securities, what would crap look like? [5/08]
  
  Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond: See Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income, above. [5/08]
  
  Regions Morgan Keegan Select Short Term Bond: See Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income, above. [5/08]
  
  Vanguard tax-exempt funds (several):
  
  

  Vanguard fund	Previous manager	New manager
  New Jersey Tax-Exempt Money Market	Marlin Brown	Kathryn Allen
  Ohio Long-Term Tax-Exempt	John Carbone	Marlin Brown
  Ohio Tax-Exempt Money Market	Marlin Brown	Pamela Tynan
  Pennsylvania Long-Term Tax-Exempt	John Carbone	Marlin Brown
  [5/08]

  
  
• Originally posted April 2008
  
  American Century Small Cap Value: Steve Roth leaves as comanager. Replacing Roth (and joining continuing lead manager Benjamin Giele) is James Pitman. [4/08]
  
  American Century Tax-Free Bond: Robert Miller leaves as lead portfolio manager, and leaves the firm. Alan Kruss replaces him. [4/08]
  
  DWS funds (several): At each fund shown below, Alex, Brown Investment Management is fired as subadvisor, and a new manager (affiliated with Deutsche Investment Management Americas) takes over:
  
  

  DWS fund	New manager(s)
  Communications	Ralf Oberannscheidt
  Equity Partners	David Hone/Thomas Schuessler
  Value Builder	David Hone
  [4/08]

  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Geoff Kuli is out as manager, and Peter Dixon takes over. [4/08]
  
  Fidelity Short-Term Bond: Comanager Andrew Dudley starts a leave of absence, of unspecified length. Lead manager Robert Galusza will handle the fund on his own in Dudley's absence. [4/08]
  
  Janus Adviser Long/Short: Dan Kozlowski leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. David Decker and Daniel Riff continue at the helm. [4/08]
  
  Legg Mason Partners Capital: Brian Posner leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. Brian Angerame will run the fund solo. [4/08; Update @ 6/08: Derek Deutsch now comanager with Angerame]
  
  Neuberger Berman Fasciano: Michael Fasciano is removed as manager, and the team from Neuberger Berman Genesis takes over (Judith Vale/Robert D'Alelio/Michael Bowyer/Brett Reiner). Ultimately, however, none of this will matter, because the earth will be consumed by the sun. In the shorter term it also won't matter, because (pending shareholder approval) Neuberger is seeking to merge NB Fasciano into NB Genesis. [4/08]
  
  Payden Core Bond: Brian Matthews is out as manager. James Sarni takes over, assisted by Kristin Ceva. Sarni, it should be noted, was simulataneously removed from Payden Limited Maturity (below), almost certainly for performance reasons, which means that he's good enough to manage one Payden fund (this one), but not good enough to manage another. All bosses should be so understanding of their employee's limitations. [4/08]
  
  Payden Limited Maturity: James Sarni and Colleen Ambrose are removed as managers (Sarni moves to Payden Core Bond, above, and Ambrose apparently leaves the firm). Taking over for Sarni and Ambrose is the team of Mary Beth Syal and David Ballantine. [4/08]
  
  PIMCO funds (several): At each fund below, Sudi Mariappa is out as manager, and Scott Mather takes over:
  
  

  PIMCO Foreign Bond (Unhedged)

  PIMCO Foreign Bond (U.S. Dollar Hedged)

  PIMCO Global Bond (Unhedged)

  PIMCO Global Bond (U.S. Dollar Hedged)

  [4/08]

  
  Wells Fargo Advantage Common Stock: Richard Weiss steps down as co-manager, and he assumes the new position of "Senior Team Advisor" to the fund. Basically, it sounds like he will come to the office and scatter stock ideas like pixie dust, for the benefit of day-to-day fund manager Ann Miletti (who had worked with Weiss on this fund for the past seven years or so). [4/08]
  
  Wells Fargo Advantage Opportunity: See Wells Fargo Common Stock, above. [4/08]
  
• Originally posted March 2008
  
  AIM Constellation: Manager Lanny Sachnowitz is sacked, and a member of his team (Robert Lloyd) is now in charge. Lloyd is assisted by a new face, Ryan Amerman, and two old faces under Sachnowitz (Kirk Anderson and James Birdsall) are now gone. [3/08]
  
  AIM Global Aggressive Growth: James Birdsall is removed as manager of this fund's domestic portfolio, and Paul Rasplicka takes his place. The rest of the four-person team is unchanged. [3/08]
  
  AIM Global Growth: Kirk Anderson is removed as manager of this fund's domestic portfolio, and Robert Lloyd replaces him. The other three team members are unchanged. [3/08]
  
  AIM Technology: Lanny Sachnowitz is removed as manager, replaced by Warren Tennant. [3/08]
  
  Fidelity Puritan: Stephen Petersen leaves as co-manager, and Ramin Arani now handles this fund solo. [3/08]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: Stephen Burlingame (of TCW Investment Management) has disappeared as co-manager from the Masters' Select Web site, and we take that to mean he no longer works on this fund. Craig Blum, Burlingame's colleague at TCW, will now take a solo turn running TCW's 20% share of this fund. And now the folks at Masters' need to tell the SEC about this change, too. [3/08; thanks to FundAlarm readers "D & J" for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Putnam funds (several): Putnam funds probably would perform better if the stock market never changed. Unfortunately, the market insists on moving up and down, creating winners and losers, and Putnam fund managers seem generally incapable of dealing with such unsettling events. Which brings us to still another round of manager changes at Putnam, as Putnam's top brass tries (again) to find someone -- anyone -- who can consistently pick winning stocks:
  
  

  Putnam fund	Previous management team	New management team
  Discovery Growth	Portfolio leader: Richard Weed Portfolio member: Robert Ginsburg Portfolio member: Raymond Haddad	Portfolio leader: Richard Weed Portfolio member: Raymond Haddad Portfolio member: Jeffrey Knight Portfolio member: Robert Schoen
  Growth Opportunities	Portfolio leader: Kelly Morgan Portfolio leader: Robert Ginsburg	Portfolio leader: Jefffrey Knight Portfolio leader: Robert Schoen
  Voyager	Portfolio leader: Robert Ginsburg Portfolio leader: Kelly Morgan	Portfolio leader: Jefffrey Knight Portfolio leader: Robert Schoen
  [3/08]

  
  TCW Select Equities: It looks like Stephen Burlingame has left this fund as co-manager, and Craig Blum is now in charge by himself. TCW still hasn't bothered to tell the SEC about this change, but Burlingame and Blum also managed a Masters' Select fund (see above), and Burlingame has apparently left that fund. We're assuming that if Burlingame has left the Masters' fund, he has also left this TCW fund, which was his main responsibility. Honestly, folks, this process of digging out manager changes should be easier -- and it would be, if fund firms would just file their SEC forms on time. [3/08]
  
  Torray: Sshhh, this manager change is secret -- so secret, even the SEC hasn't been officially notified, and we only learned about the change in a shareholder letter dated February 4, 2008. Co-manager Douglas Eby left this fund last November 1, for a hedge fund. Wayne Shaner and Shawn Hendon have joined continuing manager Robert Torray at the helm. Shaner and Hendon are principals of a Bethesda, Md. investment firm, Rockledge Partners, that runs private accounts (Shaner was also independent chairman of the Torray Funds, a job he apparently has relinquished). It is perhaps revealing to note that the last "quarterly newsletter" posted on the Rockledge Web site is dated June 2007, so Shaner and Hendon appear to be as timely with their Web site maintenance as Torray is with its SEC filings. It looks like a good fit. [3/08]
  
  Vanguard Explorer: Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO) is fired as manager of a portion of this fund's portfolio. Vanguard's in-house Quantitative Equity Group takes over "the majority" of assets previously handled by GMO. [3/08]
  
  Vanguard High-Yield Corporate: Long-time bond manager Earl McEvoy has announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2008. McEvoy, who is a partner of Wellington Management Company, the fund's subadvisor, will be replaced by Michael Hong. [3/08]
  
  Vanguard Long-Term Investment Grade: Manager Earl McEvoy is retiring in June. He will be replaced by Lucius Hill. [3/08]
  
  Vanguard U.S. Value: Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO) is fired as manager for about one-third of this fund, and Vanguard's in-house Quantitative Equity Group takes over for GMO. [3/08]
  
  Vanguard Wellesley Income: Earl McEvoy is retiring on June 30 as manager of this fund's bond portfolio. John Keogh, who manages the bond portion of Vanguard Wellington, will replace McEvoy. Several months ago, Vanguard announced that John Ryan, this fund's stock manager, would also be retiring on June 30, so it will be a clean managerial sweep come the third quarter of 2008. [3/08]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2008
  
  Baron Asset: Ron Baron steps down as co-manager, and Andrew Beck now runs the show by himself. [2/08]
  
  DWS Latin America Equity: Paul Rogers is out as co-manager, and Terrence Gray will now run this fund solo. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Select Financial Services, below. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Materials: See Fidelity Select Materials, below. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap Growth: See Fidelity Mid Cap Growth, below. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Mid Cap Growth: Bahaa Fam is removed as manager, and Patrick Venanzi takes over. Fam has put up sub-par numbers. Venanzi is a rookie manager. Can we assume that this fund is not one of Fidelity's highest priorities? [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Select Chemicals: Duffy Fischer is out as manager, and Matthew Schuldt takes over. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: Brian Younger steps down as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Richard Manuel is now sole manager. [2/08]
  
  Fidelity Select Materials: Duffy Fischer is out as manager, and Tobias Welo takes over. [2/08]
  
  Matthews funds (several):
  
  

  Matthews fund	Old manager	New manager
  Asia Pacific Equity Income	Lead: Andrew Foster	Lead: Jesper Madsen Co-manager: Andrew Foster
  Asian Growth and Income	Lead: G. Paul Matthews Co-manager: Andrew Foster	Lead: Andrew Foster Co-manager: G. Paul Matthews
  Asian Technology	Lead: J. Michael Oh Co-manager: Mark Headley	Lead: J. Michael Oh Co-manager: Mark Headley/Lydia So
  China	Lead: Richard Gao Co-manager: G. Paul Matthews/Mark Headley	Lead: Richard Gao Co-manager: Mark Headley/Andrew Foster
  Korea	Lead: G. Paul Matthews/Mark Headley Co-manager: J. Michael Oh	Lead: J. Michael Oh Co-manager: Mark Headley/Michael Han
  Pacific Tiger	Lead: Mark Headley Co-manager: Richard Gao	Lead: Richard Gao/Sharat Shroff Co-manager: Mark Headley
  [2/08]

  
  Pax World Women's Equity: Late last year, Pax World Management acquired Women's Equity (FEMMX) and renamed the fund Pax World Women's Equity (PXWEX) (technically, the transaction was a reorganization/merger, but the result is the same). Coincident with this change, the former management team of FEMMX is out, and Sujatha Avutu is now in charge (Avutu comes from Evergreen, where she ran Evergreen Equity Income). [2/08]
  
  PIMCO funds (several):
  
  

  PIMCO fund	Old manager	New manager
  Commodity RealReturn	John Brynjolfsson	Mihir Worah
  RealEstate RealReturn	John Brynjolfsson	Mihir Worah
  Real Return	John Brynjolfsson	Mihir Worah
  [2/08]

  
  UBS funds (several):
  
  

  UBS fund	Old manager	New manager
  Dynamic Alpha	Brian Singer	Edwin Denson/Thomas Clarke/Neil Williams*
  Global Allocation	Brian Singer	Edwin Denson/Thomas Clarke*
  Global Frontier	Brian Singer	Edwin Denson*
  *We posted these changes last month, but didn't have info yet on the new managers
  [2/08]

  
  Vanguard Growth and Income: John Cone will step down as day-to-day manager in June 2008 (Cone is the top guy at Franklin Portfolio Associates, the fund's subadvisor). Anticipating Cone's departure, Franklin has appointed Oliver Buckley as co-manager, and Buckley will take over here when Cone is gone. [2/08]
  
  Vanguard Morgan Growth: In June 2008, John Cone will step down as day-to-day manager of a portion of this fund's portfolio (Cone is the top guy at Franklin Portfolio Associates, one of four subadvisors assigned to this fund). Anticipating Cone's departure, Franklin has appointed Oliver Buckley to assist Cone, and Buckley will take over Franklin's portion when Cone is gone. [2/08]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2008
  
  Aston/ABN AMRO Growth: ABN AMRO Asset Management is fired as manager. Montag & Caldwell, represented by Ron Canakaris, in now in charge. [1/08]
  
  Aston Balanced: ABN AMRO Asset Management is fired as manager of the stock portion of this fund, and Ron Canakaris, of Montag & Caldwell, takes over. [1/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Capital Development: Adam Hetnarski leaves as manager, and Harlan Carere is now in charge. [1/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Global Capital Appreciation: Darren Maupin leaves as manager of this fund's non-U.S. holdings, and leaves the firm. Sammy Simnegar takes over. [1/08]
  
  Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation: See Fidelity Aggressive International, below. [1/08]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive International: Darren Maupin leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Sammy Simnegar takes over. [1/08]
  
  First Investors Special Situations: See Paradigm Select, below. [1/08]
  
  Managers California Intermediate Tax-Free: Evergreen Investment Management remains as subavisor, but day-to-day management shifts from Michael Pietronico to Mattew Kiselak. [1/08]
  
  Managers Fremont Global: Kern Capital Management is fired as manager. Kern's portion of the portfolio will be distributed among one or more of the fund's five remaining subadvisors. [1/08]
  
  Managers Fremont Institutional Micro-Cap: See Managers Fremont Micro-Cap, below. [1/08]
  
  Managers Fremont Micro-Cap: Kern Capital Management is fired as manager, and the fund's portfolio is distributed among four new managers, with different investment styles: Next Century Growth Investors (micro-cap growth and small-cap growth); Lord, Abbett & Co. (micro-cap growth); WEDGE Capital Management (micro-cap value); OFI Institutional Asset Management (micro-cap core). [1/08]
  
  MFS Strategic Value: Kenneth Enright retires as manager, and Gregory Locraft is now in charge. [1/08]
  
  Putnam Fund for Growth & Income: Joshua Brooks leaves as co-"portfolio leader," and leaves the firm. Eric Harthun will now run this fund solo, assisted by David King and Michael Abata (King continues as a "portfolio member," Abata joins the fund in that capacity). FundAlarm comments: During his time in charge of this fund, Brooks failed quite miserably to turn it around. As we wrote when Brooks first took over: "This fund is Putnam's biggest offering and, far from being the firm's shining beacon, it's been a more like a dirty, 20-watt light bulb for at least a decade. If Putnam can't turn this fund around, nobody's going to believe the firm's bigger turnaround story." We're still waiting, and so are about 13 billion sad and underperforming dollars held captive in the various classes of this fund. [1/08]
  
  Putnam Research: This fund loses both of its "portfolio leaders" -- Joshua Brooks and Kelly Morgan -- in the space of about one month. "Portfolio members" Charles Dane and Walter Scully will continue to do what they have done before, which is trying to catch up with their benchmark, a task that has eluded them (and almost all of their predescessors) for most of this century. If you own this fund, it's almost certainly time to get some exercise -- as in, take a walk. [1/08]
  
  Templeton Foreign: Murdo Murchison leaves as co-manager, and Cynthia Sweeting replaces him. Also, as of August 2007, lead manager Jeffrey Everett was replaced by Tucker Scott, a change we missed at the time. [1/08]
  
  Templeton Growth: Murdo Murchison leaves as lead manager, and Cynthia Sweeting takes over. Also, back in October 2007, assistant portfolio manager Jeffrey Everett was replaced by Tucker Scott. [1/08]
  
  Templeton World: Murdo Murchison leaves as co-manager, and Cynthia Sweeting replaces him. Also, co-manager Dale Winner, who joined the fund in October 2007, is now gone. After all the changes, the team in charge of this fund is the same as the team that heads up Templeton Growth. [1/08]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2007
  
  Fidelity Growth & Income II: James Catudal steps down as manager, and Richard Mace takes over. This fund has been renamed Fidelity Mega Cap Stock Fund. [12/07]
  
  Fidelity Select IT Services: Benjamin Hesse lasts less than a year as manager. Jane Liou, the new manager, will try to stay around for at least one complete circuit around the sun. [12/07]
  
  Janus Growth and Income: Another month, another experienced Janus manager bites the dust. This month, it's Minyoung Sohn who is stepping down, and it's Marc Pinto who is taking over for Sohn. [12/07]
  
  Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt: Christopher Ryon steps down as manager, and leaves the firm. Reid Smith is now in charge (Smith remains at the helm of his two other Vanguard tax-exempt funds, Insured Long-Term and High-Yield). [12/07]
  
  Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt: See Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt, above. [12/07]
  
  Vanguard Massachusetts Long-Term Tax-Exempt: Christopher Ryon steps down as manager, and leaves the firm. John Carbone takes over. [12/07]
  
  Vanguard New York Long-Term Tax-Exempt: See Vanguard Massachusetts Long-Term Tax-Exempt, above. [12/07]
  
  Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced: With respect to the bond portion of this fund's portfolio, Christopher Ryon steps down as manager, and Reid Smith replaces him. [12/07]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2007
  
  Delaware Growth Opportunities: Steven Catricks and Liu-Er Chen leave this fund's nine-person management team. Chen had come over from Evergreen in September 2006, with great promise, and had just been appointed to help run this fund (July 2007). So much for that plan. No replacement for Catricks or Chen has been announced. [11/07]
  
  Delaware Trend: See Delaware Growth Opportunities, above. [11/07]
  
  Fidelity Global Balanced: Jeffrey Feingold is out as manager of this fund's U.S. portfolio, and Stephen DuFour takes over. [11/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: Lindsay Connor is now ex-manager of this fund, turning the reins over to Maurice Fitzmaurice. [11/07]
  
  Fidelity Worldwide: See Fidelity Global Balanced, above. [11/07]
  
  Janus: The exodus continues: David Corkins leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Corkins is replaced by Jonathan Coleman, who will be assisted by Dan Riff. [11/07]
  
  Janus Adviser Large Cap Growth: See Janus Fund, below. [11/07]
  
  Janus Aspen Large Cap Growth: See Janus Fund, below. [11/07]
  
  Janus Enterprise: Jonathan Coleman leaves as manager, to take over the flagship Janus Fund. Brian Demain (who?) takes over for Coleman. [11/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Global Value Equity: Frances Campion leaves as lead manager of this six-person team, and leaves the firm. Colin McQueen moves up from team member to team leader, replacing Campion, but no new personnel are added. [11/07]
  
  PL Growth LT: David Corkins of Janus managed this fund for Pacific Life. Now that Corkins is gone (see Janus Fund, above), we're assuming that Jonathan Coleman will take over here, too. [11/07]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Large Cap Growth: Navellier & Associates is fired as one of this fund's three subadvisors, and Janus is hired to replace Navellier. Ron Sachs will carry the day-to-day torch for Janus. The bad news is that being hired as manager of this fund is like being invited to dinner at the captain's table on the Titanic -- it's theoretically an honor, but those with an instinct for self-preservation would be wise to be somewhere else. If you're a shareholder with an instinct for self-preservation, you might want to be somewhere else, too. [11/07]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2007
  
  Dreyfus funds (several): There have been manager changes at several Dreyfus funds, all with the same result: Someone is out, and William Patzer has taken over. Here are the details:
  
  

  Dreyfus fund	Old manager	New manager
  Founders International Equity	Remi Browne/Jeffrey Sullivan	William Patzer
  Founders Passport	Daniel LeVan/John Evers	William Patzer
  Founders Worlwide Growth (foreign portion)	Remi Browne/Jeffrey Sullivan	William Patzer*
  Premier International Equity	Remi Browne/Peter Carpenter	William Patzer
  Premier International Growth	Remi Browne	William Patzer
  Premier International Small Cap	Daniel LeVan/John Evers	William Patzer
  [posted 10/07; changes effective August 1, 2007]

  * John Jares remains in charge of this fund's domestic portfolio
  Fidelity Advisor Japan: Dale Nicholls steps down as manager, and Robert Rowland is now in charge. [10/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Air Transportation: Andrew Hatem is out as manager, and Maurice FitzMaurice takes over. [10/07]
  
  Wasatch Global Science & Technology: Jim Gulbrandson leaves this two-person management team, and leaves the firm (for a hedge fund). Noor Kamruddin will now manage this fund solo. [10/07]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2007
  
  Alliance Bernstein Global Technology: Janet Walsh is out as manager. A six-person team, led by Catherine Wood, takes over from Walsh, and the fund also gets a new name (AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth) and a new mandate (to boldly go where no fund has ever gone before; oh, wait, here's the real, new mandate: to pursue "opportunistic growth across multiple industries"). Oh, and the fund also gets about $100 million of new assets, as it absorbs AllianceBernstein Global Health Care. [9/07]
  
  Alliance Bernstein Growth: Three members of the current four-person management team are gone, and the fourth member (lead manager Alan Levi) will retire on December 31, 2008. The new management team is led by Lisa Shalett, assisted by Vadim Zlotnikov, Scott Wallace and Frank Caruso. The fund is also changing its benchmark from the Russell 3000 Growth Index to the Russell 1000 Growth Index, and increasing the number of holdings in its portfolio from a range of 45 - 70 to a range of 80 - 120. [9/07]
  
  Allianz OCC Value: Oppenheimer Capital (and day-to-day manager Colin Glinsman) is fired, and NFJ Investment Group takes over. Thomas Oliver will run the show for NFJ, assisted by Jeffrey Partenheimer, Benno Fischer and Paul Magnuson. Coinciding with this manager change, the fund is renamed Allianz Global Investors Value, but probably not for long: In the fourth quarter of 2008, Allianz expects to merge Global Investors Value, nee OCC Value, into Allianz NFJ Large-Cap Value. [9/07]
  
  American Century Ultra: Wade Slome is gone as co-manager. New co-manager Steve Lurito joins Tom Telford, who remains as part of the management team. [9/07]
  
  DWS International: Matthias Knerr and Chris LaJaunie leave as managers, and leave the firm. Joseph Axtell takes over as lead manager, and Michael Sieghart will apparently hover over the fund and provide some kind of consulting services to it (the prospectus isn't clear on Sieghart's role, and we assume intentionally so). [9/07]
  
  DWS International Select Equity: See DWS International, above. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Freedom funds: See Fidelity Freedom funds, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Gold: See Fidelity Select Gold, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Dividend & Income: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income: See Fidelity Strategic Income, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Return: See Fidelity Strategic Real Return, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Canada: Maxime Lemieux takes a leave of absence (Fidelity expects him to return "in the winter of 2009," which works out to about six months from now). Douglas Lober will run the fund while Lemieux is away. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Freedom funds: Ren Cheng steps down as co-manager, and Christopher Sharpe takes Cheng's place. Current co-manager Jonathan Shelon will stay in place. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Gold: Daniel Dupont is out as manager, and S. Joseph Wickwire, II takes over. Wickwire comes over from Evergreen, where he ran Evergreen Precious Metals with some distinction. The appointment of Wickwire also makes good on a Fidelity promise, from some time back, to put capable, experienced analysts in charge of Select funds and, presumably, to leave them in charge for more than one revolution of the earth around the sun. We'll see if this is the start of a long-awaited (and long-overdue) trend. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income: See Fidelity Strategic Income, below. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Income: Christopher Sharpe leaves as co-manager, in order to move over to the Fidelity Freedom funds (above). Sharpe's former co-manager, Derek Young, will now run this fund solo. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Real Return: See Fidelity Strategic Income, above. [9/07]
  
  Fidelity Total Bond: Eric Mollenhauer is out as co-manager, and Matthew Conti is now co-manager (with Ford O'Neil). [9/07]
  
  Janus Adviser Forty: Scott Schoelzel leaves as manager, and Ron Sachs takes over. [9/07]
  
  Janus Adviser Orion: See Janus Orion, below. [9/07]
  
  Janus Aspen Forty: See Janus Adviser Forty, above. [9/07]
  
  Janus Orion: Ron Sachs steps down as manager (he's headed for Janus Twenty, below). John Eisinger, an analyst with about nine years of professional experience (and a team member of the Janus Research fund), takes over for Sachs. [9/07]
  
  Janus Twenty: Manager Scott Schoelzel will retire from the firm at the end of 2007. Ron Sachs, who currently manages Janus Orion, will take over for Schoelzel. FundAlarm comments: In the late 1990s, Schoelzel drank the Janus Kool Aid with gusto, and investors in his funds paid dearly for his bad judgment and mistakes. Schoelzel should have known better, and the fact that he screwed up less than some of his peers doesn't let him off the hook. And even though we have absolutely no knowledge that Schoelzel was involved in any of the Janus market timing scandals, and as far as we know his name has never been linked with those scandals, we find it hard to believe that a manager as senior as Schoelzel didn't at least suspect what his peers and superiors were up to doing during those dark, sordid days. All that said, this fund has recovered nicely since 2001, and Schoelzel's overall track record, of almost exactly ten years, has been excellent. Schoelzel is the last seasoned, battle-scarred manager at Janus, so this really is the end of the era that many observers have been predicting at Janus since, well, the last era was in full swing. Ron Sachs has posted some terrific numbers at Orion, maybe even better than Schoelzel's, though Sachs has been plowing a different field and has had considerably fewer assets under management. With this promotion, Janus effectively says that Sachs is the company's new star; if we owned this fund, we'd probably let the new star show us what he can do. [9/07]
  
  Maxim Janus Large Cap Growth: Manager Scott Schoelzel has announced that he's leaving Janus at the end of this year, which means that he's also leaving this fund. Ron Sachs is taking over for Schoelzel at Janus, and it's almost certain that Sachs will be taking over here, too. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Balanced: Roberto Sella is out as one of two managers handling this fund's fixed-income portfolio, and Sanjay Verma replaces him. Lead equity manager Francine Bovich remains unchanged. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Core Fixed Income: Roberto Sella is out as a member of this fund's three-person management team. Sella is replaced by Sanjay Verma. The other two members of the team (W. David Armstrong and Jaidip Singh) remain unchanged. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Core Plus Fixed Income: Roberto Sella is out as co-manager, and Sanjay Verma replaces him. W. David Armstrong remains as the other member of the team. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Intermediate Duration: See Morgan Stanley Institutional Core Fixed Income, above. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Grade Fixed Income: See Morgan Stanley Institutional Core Fixed Income, above. [9/07]
  
  Morgan Stanley Utilities: Ed Gaylor and Steven Kreider are gone as managers, and Mary Jane Maly takes over. Maly has been part of the management team since January 2006, and it's not clear how she, working alone, is going to do what she and Gaylor together were unable to do (i.e., bring this fund out of its five-year funk). Kreider is the innocent bystander here: He ran the fixed-income portion of this fund which, recently, has essentially been non-existent. [9/07]
  
  Oppenheimer Quest Value: Christopher Leavy is gone as manager; Neil McCarthy and Joseph Higgins are now in charge. Oh, and while the managers were swapping places, the fund also changed its name to Oppenheimer Rising Dividend, which also reveals the fund's new strategy. Other than a new manager, new name, and new strategy, there's nothing to report. [9/07]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Growth: Two changes here: (1) Scott Schoelzel manages a portion of this fund's porfolio, along with two other managers from Thornburg and a manager from AIG SunAmerica. Schoelzel has announced that he's leaving Janus at the end of this year, which means that he's also be leaving this fund. Ron Sachs is taking over for Schoelzel at Janus, and it's almost certain that Sachs will be taking over for Schoelzel here, too. (2) The manager from AIG SunAmerica -- Gregory Parker -- is gone; Parker is replaced by Jay Rushin, also of AIG SunAmerica. [9/07]
  
  T. Rowe Price Growth Stock: Robert W. Smith is out as lead manager (he's headed for the top spot at T. Rowe Price International Stock, below). Taking over for Smith here is P. Robert Bartolo, who has been a member of this fund's 12-person [!] management team. [9/07]
  
  T. Rowe Price International Stock: It's a changing of the Smiths: Mark C.J. Bickford-Smith is out as lead manager ("Chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee," in Price-speak), and Robert W. Smith replaces him. [9/07]
  
  Vanguard Equity Income: See Vanguard Wellesley Income, below. [9/07]
  
  Vanguard Wellesley Income: Manager John Ryan plans to step down on June 30, 2008, to take another job with Wellington. W. Michael Reckmeyer, III, who currently co-manages the fund's stock portfolio with Ryan, is expected to be a solo stock manager come next summer. [9/07]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2007
  
  BlackRock Municipal Insured: Robert DiMella is out as manager, and it takes three managers to replace him: Lead manager Walter O'Connor, joined by Michael Kalinoski and Theodore Jaeckel. [8/07]
  
  Dreyfus Mid-Cap Growth: Daniel Crowe leaves as manager and leaves the firm. Morningstar reports that he is headed for Pyramis Global Advisors, Fidelity's new institutional money-management arm. Taking over for Crowe is the team of Joseph Chin and John Jares. [8/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Large Cap Growth: See Fidelity Large Cap Growth, below. [8/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Value: See Fidelity Value, below. [8/07]
  
  Fidelity Large Cap Growth: Bahaa Fam steps down as manager, and Edward Best takes over. [8/07]
  
  Fidelity Value: Manager Rich Fentin takes a leave of absence, expected to be just a few months, and newly-appointed asistant manager Matthew Friedman will run the fund in Fentin's absence. [8/07]
  
  Huntington Growth: A reliable source tells us that Bernard Shinkel leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. It appears that his teammates, Martina Cheung and Jenny Jiang, will continue to run this fund, with a replacement for Shinkel likely to be named soon. [8/07]
  
  Huntington New Economy: Bernard Shinkel leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. His replacement should be identified soon. [8/07]
  
  MainStay ICAP Equity: Lead manager Robert Lyon died on July 3. Lyon's management teammates, Jerrold Senser and Thomas Wenzel, will continue to run the fund. [8/07]
  
  MainStay ICAP International: See MainStay ICAP Equity, above. [8/07]
  
  MainStay ICAP Select Equity: See MainStay ICAP Equity, above. [8/07]
  
  Marsico Flexible Capital: Founding manager Corydon Gilchrist is moving out after about eight months on the job, and rookie manager A. Douglas Rao takes over. [8/07]
  
  PIMCO Extended Duration: James Keller leaves as manager, and Stephen Rodosky is now in charge. [8/07]
  
  PIMCO Long Duration Total Return: See PIMCO Extended Duration, above. [8/07]
  
  PIMCO Long-Term U.S. Government: See PIMCO Extended Duration, above. [8/07]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2007
  
  AFBA 5Star funds: This "5Star" family had been a one-trick pony up until now, with all of its funds subadvised by Kornitzer Capital Management (Kornitzer also runs its own family, the Buffalo funds). Effective July 15, Kornitzer will tend to its own herd, and happy new faces will be in charge of the AFBA funds, as follows:
  
  

  AFBA 5Star fund	New manager (i.e., subadvisor)
  Balanced	The London Company (equity portion) Financial Counselors, Inc. (fixed income portion)
  High Yield	Financial Counselors, Inc.
  Large Cap	Marvin & Palmer Associates
  Mid Cap	Dreman Value Management
  USA Global	Marvin & Palmer Associates
  Science & Technology	TrendStar Advisers
  Small Cap	Bjurman, Barry & Associates TrendStar Advisers The London Company
  [7/07]

  
  
  Evergreen Equity Income: A reliable source tells us that manager Sujatha Avutu is leaving the fund and leaving the firm. As of July 1 no successor has been named, although one is expected shortly. [7/07; Update at 8/07: Avutu's successor is Walter McCormick, assisted by Gary Mishuris]
  
  Harbor Large Cap Value: Armstrong Shaw Associates is fired as subadvisor and Cohen & Steers takes over, led by Richard Helm. [7/07]
  
  Masters' Select Smaller Companies: Ariel Capital Management (with John Rogers in charge) is removed as one of this fund's five outside managers (i.e., subadvisors). Reed Conner & Birdwell takes over for Ariel, with Jeff Bronchick and Tom Kerr calling the shots for RC&B. Ariel managed about 20% of this fund's portfolio, using a value-oriented style, and RC&B will continue operating within those parameters. [7/07]
  
  Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation: Bill Wilby retires as manager, and Marc Baylin takes over. [7/07]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2007
  
  Fidelity Advisor Europe Capital Appreciation: See Fidelity Europe Capital Appreciation, below. [6/07]
  
  Fidelity China Region: K.C. Lee is removed as manager, and Wilson Wong takes over [8/07; change effective 6/07]
  
  Fidelity Europe Capital Appreciation: Darren Maupin steps down as manager, and Melissa Reilly is now in charge. [6/07]
  
  Fidelity Global Balanced: Darren Maupin steps down as a member of this twelve-person management team. Melissa Reilly takes over for Maupin on the European portion of the portfolio. It also looks like (1) Ronald Slattery has left the team, (2) Leon Tucker (already a member of the team) has taken over Slattery's duties, and (3) John Lo has taken over for Leon Tucker as this fund's manager of Asia ex-Japan. [6/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Manager Yolanda Taylor heads out the revolving door and Benjamin Hesse is now in charge (although he hasn't ordered too many business cards). [8/07; change effective 6/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Construction and Housing: Nora Creedon is out as manager, and Daniel Kelley takes over. [6/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Equipment and Systems: Aaron Cooper is now ex-manager, and Edward Lee Yoon takes over. [6/07]
  
  ICON Energy: J.C. Waller leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Derek Rollington and Robert Straus take over. [6/07; thanks to Adam Bold, of the Mutual Fund Store, for alerting us to this and the other ICON changes below]
  
  ICON Healthcare: J.C. Waller leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Todd Burchett, formerly an asistant manager on this fund, takes over. [6/07]
  
  ICON Industrials: J.C. Waller leaves as assistant portfolio manager, and leaves the firm. Zach Jonson takes over for Waller. [6/07]
  
  ING Emerging Markets Fixed Income: Rob Drijkoningen leaves a co-manager. Daniel Eustaquio replaces Drijkoningen, joining continuing manager Gorky Urquieta. (This entry is currently in the lead for "Most Difficult Names to Profread of 2007".) [6/07]
  
  Janus Global Life Sciences: Tom Malley steps down as manager, and leaves the firm. Healthcare analyst Andrew Acker is the new manager. [6/07]
  
  Janus Global Technology: Brad Slingerlend leaves as manager, so co-manager Barney Wilson will now run this fund solo. [6/07]
  
  Oppenheimer Developing Markets: Mark Madden leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Justin Leverenz is now in charge. [6/07; thanks to FundAlarm reader S.H. for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Royce Technology Value: Jonathan Cohen, of JHC Capital Management, is out as subadvisor. In-house manager Whitney George takes over, assisted by Dana Serman, who had been assistant manager of this fund, with Cohen, when Serman was an employee of JHC Capital Management. George and Serman are described in a company press release as having "ample" experience with smaller technology companies, so I guess we can't accuse Royce of overstating the experience of its managers. In conjunction with this manager change, Royce is reducing the fund's management fee by 25 basis points (0.25%), presumably to reflect the fact that the fee no longer has to be shared with Cohen's firm. [6/07]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2007
  
  AllianceBernstein Balanced Shares: Both the equity and fixed-income portions of this fund have been revamped. Lead equity manager Stephen Pelensky is gone, replaced by Frank Caruso and Aryeh Glatter. On the fixed income side, the management duo of John Kelley and Stanley Martinez is replaced by a four-person team, led by Alison Martier. [5/07]
  
  Eaton Vance Greater India: Samir Mehta is out as manager, and Christopher Darling is now in charge. [Change effective March 26, 2007; posted 5/07]
  
  Evergreen Balanced: Walter McCormick is out as lead manager. Margaret Patel, coming over from Pioneer (see below), takes over for McCormick. We're assuming that Patel will still have some team support, as McCormick did before, although the prospectus supplement isn't clear on that point. [5/07]
  
  Evergreen Strategic Income: Gary Pzegeo is removed as lead manager, to make room for Margaret Patel, who arrives from Pioneer (see below). An international team has been assisting on this fund, and we're assuming that they're are still around although Evergreen, in typical fashion, has done another lousy job explaining a manager change. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Consumer Discretionary: See Fidelity Select Consumer Discretionary, below. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Materials: See Fidelity Select Materials, below. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Japan: Yoko Ishibashi is now the former manager of this fund, replaced by Robert Rowland. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Discretionary: Martin Zinny is out as manager, and John Harris takes over. Zinny took over last October, from a manager who had been on the job for only four months, which makes us wonder what turnover at this fund would look like if Fidelity wasn't trying to get turnover under control. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Materials: Jody Simes leaves as manager, and Duffy Fischer is now in charge. [5/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Retailing: Martin Zinny is out as manager, after about 15 months -- almost a lifer, by Fidelity Select standards. Evan Hornbuckle replaces Zinny. [5/07]
  
  Franklin Aggressive Growth: Rob Dean leaves as head of this three-person management team, and Grant Bowers replaces him. [Change effective March 2, 2007; posted 5/07]
  
  Hartford Capital Appreciation II: James Averill leaves this eight-person management team, and retires from Wellington Management Company, which is the day-to-day manager (subadviser) of this fund (change effective April 1, 2007). [5/07]
  
  Hartford Value Opportunities: James Averill leaves this four-person management team, and retires from Wellington Management Company, the subadviser of this fund (change effective April 1, 2007). [5/07]
  
  Legg Mason Partners Financial Services: Batterymarch Financial Management is removed as day-to-day manager (subadvisor). Barrett Associates is the new subadvisor, and Amy LaGuardia now runs this fund for Barrett. [Change effective March 16, 2007; posted 5/07]
  
  PIMCO High Yield: Raymond Kennedy steps down as manager, and Mark Hudoff steps up. [5/07]
  
  Pioneer Equity Opportunity: Margaret Patel steps down as manager, and leaves the firm. Patel's replacement is Timothy Horan. [5/07]
  
  Pioneer High Yield: Top-notch manager Margaret Patel steps down, and leaves the firm. Patel is replaced by Andrew Feltus (who will continue at Pioneer Global High Yield), assisted here by analyst Tracy Wright. During his tenure at Global High Yield, Feltus has posted even better numbers than Patel, so shareholders of this fund should be in good shape. [5/07]
  
  RS Diversified Growth: John Seabern is replaced as manager, effective May 1, 2007. A minivan pulls up to the door and unloads the new management team: Jim Callinan in the lead, assisted by Stephen Bishop, Melissa Chadwick-Dunn, Allison Thacker and D. Scott Tracy. The fund's name also will change, to RS Select Growth. FundAlarm comments: The "Select" part of the new name is a clue that the fund is about to get significantly more concentrated -- where it previously held about 90 stocks, the typical number of holdings will now be about 40 to 60. This fund has always been quite volatile, and the volatility is almost certain to increase under the new management team. OK, so what about performance? Callinan has managed RS Emerging Growth since 1996 and, based on that performance, it might be more appropriate to lock him in a closet instead of unleashing him on another fund. On the whole, why would anyone want to continue holding RS Diversified Growth if they didn't have to? [5/07]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2007
  
  AIM Multi-Sector: With respect to the technology segment of this fund's portfolio, see AIM Technology, below. [4/07]
  
  AIM Technology: Michelle Fenton leaves as manager, and leaves the firm, in what has become a revolving-door fund. AIM Chief Investment Officer Lanny Sachnowitz takes over as an interim replacement for Fenton. [4/07]
  
  Allianz NACM Flex-Cap Value: Nicholas Applegate Capital Management (NACM) is removed as subadvisor, and NFJ Investment Group takes over (NACM is getting out of the value-style management business, at least according to the SEC filing of another fund that NACM subadvises). Benno Fischer, Jeffrey Partenheimer and Thomas Oliver, of NFJ, will have day-to-day stock-picking responsibilities. The fund's name also is changing, to Allianz NFJ All-Cap Value. [4/07]
  
  American Century Emerging Markets: Michael Donnelly steps down as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Co-manager Patricia Ribeiro now runs this fund solo, while American Century looks to replace Donnelly. [4/07]
  
  Calvert New Vision Small Cap: Someone with new vision was desperately needed at this fund, which is why Renaissance Investment Management is now the former manager (technically, subadvisor). John Montgomery, of Bridgeway Capital Management, polishes his spectacles and takes over as the new manager. [4/07; thanks to Jim Greenwood of Greenwood Financial, Baraboo, WI, for first bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Dodge & Cox Balanced: With respect to this fund's stock portfolio, see Dodge & Cox Stock, below. [4/07]
  
  Dodge & Cox Stock: We missed this one: Effective December 31, 2006, Harry Hagey retired as head of the firm's Investment Policy Committee (it was a 10-person Committee, and now it's down to nine). Number two man, John Gunn, takes over Hagey's job. Gunn, who had been the firm's Chief Investment Officer, gives up that job to Charles Pohl. Pohl, who had been Co-Director of Research, gives up that job, and C. Bryan Cameron is now sole Director of Research. Just think of it as a big game of tag. [4/07]
  
  Evergreen Diversified Bond: Gary Pzegeo will be gone from this three-person management team, effective July 2, 2007, and Andrew Cestone will take his place. [4/07]
  
  Evergreen Health Care: Interim manager Walter McCormick is replaced by permanent hire Robert Junkin, who comes over from John Hancock. [4/07]
  
  Evergreen High Yield Bond: Effective July 2, 2007, Gary Pzegeo will be gone as manager of this fund, and Andrew Cestone (recently of Deutsche Asset Management) will be in charge. In the meantime, Cestone has been added to the management team, presumably to familiarize Cestone with the fund, and to serve as a constant daily reminder to Pzegeo that his days are numbered. [4/07]
  
  Evergreen Select High Yield Bond: See Evergreen High Yield Bond, above. [4/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Telecommunications: See Fidelity Select Telecommunications, below. [4/07]
  
  Fidelity Focused Stock: Robert Haber is out as manager, and Stephen DuFour replaces him. [4/07]
  
  Fidelity Select funds (several)
  
  

  Fidelity fund	Old manager	New manager
  Select Environmental	Douglas Simmons	Stavros Koutsantonis
  Select Industrial Equipment	Christopher Bartel	Vincent Montemaggiore
  Select Telecommunications	Brian Younger	Gavin Baker
  Select Wireless	Brian Younger	Gavin Baker
  [4/07]

  
  First Eagle Global: Manager Charles de Vaulx suddenly and mysteriously resigns, and leaves the firm. Former, retired manager Jean-Marie Eveillard takes over. FundAlarm comments: Eveillard was a terrific manager, no doubt about that, and fund shareholders are fortunate to have him back. But now what? Years ago, Eveillard decided that he wanted out of day-to-day management responsibilities and de Vaulx was his hand-picked successor, groomed by Eveillard for more than a decade. Chances are, Eveillard isn't going to do that again, and chances are he isn't going to stick around for too many years before he makes another move out the door. The biggest risk: A quickie fix, with a hastily chosen and/or poorly trained successor. If we owned this fund, we'd probably be holding on until Eveillard's status becomes clear, but we definitely wouldn't be buying more. [4/07]
  
  First Eagle Gold: See First Eagle Global, above. [4/07]
  
  First Eagle Overseas: See First Eagle Global, above. [4/07]
  
  First Eagle U.S. Value: See First Eagle Global, above. [4/07]
  
  Hartford Focus: Steven Irons and Peter Higgins are out as managers, and Francis Boggan takes over. The former managers, and their replacement, are all affiliated with the fund's subadvisor, Wellington Management. In addition, the fund will become a diversified large-cap fund, and its name will change to The Hartford Fundamental Growth. Otherwise, we have nothing to report. [4/07]
  
  ING High Yield Bond: Managers Greg Jacobs and Kurt Kringelis are replaced by Randall Parrish (the change was effective March 1, 2007). Parrish is starting out the right way on this mediocre offering: He personally owns zero shares of the fund. [4/07]
  
  JHancock Health Sciences: Robert Junkin leaves as manager, and leaves the firm; he's headed for the management seat at Evergreen Health Care. Taking over for Junkin is new hire Jon Stephenson. [4/07]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate U.S. Small Cap Value: Mark Stuckelman steps down as lead manager, and leaves the firm (according to the SEC filing at another fund, which Nicholas-Applegate subadvises, Nicholas-Applegate is getting out of the value-style equity management business). Mark Roemer takes over for Stuckelman, and the fund will adopt a systematic strategy, which is Roemer's specialty. [4/07]
  
  Pacific Capital Small Cap: Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management (NACM) subadvises two portions of this fund's portfolio (small-cap value and systematic small-cap), and Nicholas Applegate has announced that it's getting out of the business of "value"-style equity management. Therefore, the directors of this fund are looking for a replacement. To further complicate matters, the lead manager of NACM's snall-cap value strategy, Mark Stuckelman, is leaving the firm. Mark Roemer, who has been running NACM's systematic small-cap strategy, will replace Stuckelman, presumably until NACM is phased out on the value side. [4/07]
  
  T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation: Co-manager Jeffrey Arricale will step down from this fund, effective July 1, 2007. At that time, David Giroux will become sole manager. Arricale will be devoting his full energies to T. Rowe Price Financial Services (below). [4/07]
  
  T. Rowe Price Financial Services: Michael Holton is out as lead manager (effective March 1, 2007), and team member Jeffrey Arricale takes over. [4/07]
  
  T. Rowe Price Growth & Income: Anna Dopkin leaves as manager, and Thomas Huber replaces her. [4/07]
  
  Tocqueville Small Cap Value: Long-time, long-trying-to-beat-his-benchmark manager Jean-Pierre Conreur is mericifully gone, and Joseph Zock takes over. It looks like Zock has never run a public mutual fund before, although perhaps that's a good thing here. A considerable amount of such experience didn't seem to help his predecessor. [4/07]
  
  UMB Scout Small Cap:: Adrianne Valkar leaves as co-manager, and apparently leaves the firm. Jason Votruba, who was part of a three-person management team as recently as last fall, is now managing this fund by himself, and lonesome. [8/07; change effective 4/07]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2007
  
  Fidelity Advisor Electronics: See Fidelity Select Electronics, below. [3/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Financial Services, below. [3/07]
  
  Fidelity Growth Discovery (formerly Fidelity Discovery): Adam Hetnarski is out as manager, and Jason Weiner succeeds him. Weiner ran this fund for about two years, starting in April 1998, so this is the second recent example of what may be a mini-trend at Fidelity: First you're manager, then not-manager, then manager of the same fund again. To be followed, perhaps, by not-manager again, then manager, then not-manager again, and so on. Hey, when you can't control manager turnover, you've got to be willing to try new ideas; in this case, it's called the Cyclical Manager Strategy, or "CMS." [3/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Electronics: James Morrow is out as manager, and the team of Christopher Lee and Paul Jackson takes over. Now, we can all wait a few months until Fidelity decides to break up the team. [3/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: Charles Hebard is now a former manager. The team of Brian Younger and Dick Manuel will run things for a while. [3/07]
  
  Fidelity Trend: Ramin Arani steps down as manager, and Jeffrey Feingold takes his place. Arani is headed for Fidelity Puritan, where he will co-manage with Stephen Peterson and George Fischer. [3/07]
  
  JHancock (several): James Schmidt is retiring from Hancock, effective April 30, 2007. Schmidt led the management team for three funds and, in each case, his remaining co-manager(s) (indicated below) will continue to run the fund in his absence:
  
  

  JHancock fund	Continuing managers
  Financial Industries	Lisa Welch/Roger Hamilton
  Real Estate	Joseph Marguy
  Regional Bank	Lisa Welch/Susan Curry
  [3/07]

  
  JHancock Growth Trends: James Schmidt is retiring from Hancock, effective April 30, 2007. Schmidt led the Financial Services section of this fund, which will now be run by Schmidt's former colleagues, Lisa Welch and Roger Hamilton. [3/07]
  
  Lord Abbett Value Opportunities: Steven McBoyle leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Robert Fetch takes over. [3/07]
  
  Old Mutual (several): CastleArk Management is fired as subadvisor of the three funds indicated below. Ashfield Capital Partners takes over the assets previously managed by CastleArk, and Turner Investment Partners continues as the other subadvisor.
  
  

  Old Mutual fund	New managers (each a principal or employee of Ashfield)
  Large Cap Growth	J. Stephen Lauck/J. Stephen Thornborrow/ Bradley Fretz/Peter Johnson/Anthony Hooker/ Kelli Hill/Marc Lieberman
  Large Cap Growth Concentrated	Same as Large Cap Growth
  Select Growth	Kelli Hill/Marc Lieberman
  [3/07]

  
  Putnam Classic Equity: Co-Portfolio Leader Ronald Bukovac is out. Josh Brooks and Eric Harthun don their toxic waste suits, and they will try to pull this reeking fund out of its ten-year-plus slide. (In Putnam-speak, Brooks is a Portfolio Leader, who joins continuing Portfolio Leader Michael Abata. Harthun comes in as a Portfolio Member. The services of Ezekiel, who raised the dead, also may be required.) [3/07]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Large-Cap Growth: Fred Alger Management is fired as one of this fund's three subavisors, and BlackRock Investment Management takes the Alger spot. [Change effective December 18, 2006; posted 3/07]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Small-Cap Value: Boston Partners Asset Management is fired as one of this fund's three subavisors, and Dreman Value Management (David Dreman's firm) takes over the Boston Partners slice. [Change effective January 2, 2007; posted 3/07]
  
  TIAA-CREF International Equity: Yukio Miura steps down from this two-person team. Christopher Semenuk moves to the lead manager position, and Shigemi Hatta replaces Miura. [3/07]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2007
  
  American Century New Opportunities: Harold Bradley leaves this three-person management team, and leaves the firm (he's headed for a financial position at a large private foundation). Remaining managers Staffford Southwick and Matthew Ferretti, combined, have a little more than a year's worth of experience on this fund -- Southwick joined the team in May 2006, and Ferretti about two months later. [2/07]
  
  American Century New Opportunities II: See American Century New Opportunities, above. [2/07]
  
  American Century Select: Harold Bradley leaves this three-person management team, and leaves the firm. Bradley had been on this team only since April 2006, when he replaced John Sykora. Keith Lee and Michael Li, will continue in charge here. [2/07]
  
  DWS Large Cap Value: Thirty-three years of "investment management experience" (Tom Sassi) and 15 years of "investment industry experience" (Steve Scrudato) couldn't keep this fund out of the dismal performance dumps, and now both Sassi and Scrudato are gone (they are employees of Deutsche Investment Management Americas). After a one-month interim manager (David Hone), Thomas Schuessler will take over. Schuessler is an employee of Deutsche Asset Management International, based in Germany, and presumably he will be better at picking U.S. stocks than two guys with 45 years of combined experience who actually live in the U.S. We shall see. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Government Income: George Fischer is out as manager, succeeded by William Irving. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity International Real Estate: Matthew Lentz is out as manager, and Steven Buller takes over -- again. Buller left this fund almost exactly a year ago, which probably was just long enough for the new manager to have made some significant portfolio changes, so now Buller can undo those changes, which will probably put the fund back about where it was before the first set of changes occurred. And shareholders get to go along for the ride! [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Latin America: Co-manager Adam Kutas is gone, and Brent Bottamini now runs this fund by himself. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Industrials: Christopher Bartel is out as manager, and Tobias Welo is now in charge. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select IT Services: James Morrow steps down as co-manager, and Benjamin Hesse will now run this fund solo. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products: The team of Justin Bennett and Christopher Bartel lasts less than a year: Bartel is out, and Bennett will run this fund solo, at least until Fidelity can figure out a way to muck things up again. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Software and Computer Services: Kelly Cardwell is out as manager, and Mayank Tandon is now in charge. Among those who closely follow the Fidelity Select funds, former manager Cardwell was known as the "old-timer," in recognition of his four-year job tenure. Good job, old man! [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Technology: James Morrow steps down as manager, and Yun-Min Chai is now in charge. [2/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: A rare Select management team of two is no more: Christopher Bartel splits, and Lindsay Connor is now in charge by herself. [2/07]
  
  Heritage Small Cap Stock: Jim Awad, who had been running this fund since inception (1993) for subadvisor Awad Asset Management, steps down as manager. David Adams and John McPherson, Managing Directors of Awad Asset Management, take over for Jim Awad, with Adams in the lead. The fund's other subadvisor (Bert Boksen of Eagle Asset Management) remains unchanged. [2/07]
  
  Mutual Beacon: Charles Lahr leaves as Assistant Portfolio Manager, and Christian Coorea takes his place. Lahr is taking over sole responsibility for Mutual Financial Services (see below) and he's also joining the Mutual Discovery team. [2/07]
  
  Mutual European: Charles Lahr leaves as Assistant Portfolio Manager, and Katrina Dudley replaces him. [2/07]
  
  Mutual Financial Services: Todd Jonasz leaves this two-person management team, and Charles Lahr now runs this fund solo. [2/07]
  
  Pioneer Fundamental Growth: Managers Chris Galizio and Steven Balter are lured away to Fidelity's new institutional money management arm, Pyramis Global Advisors. Andrew Acheson (of Pioneer Independence) takes over, joined by Timothy Mulrenan. [2/07]
  
  Pioneer Growth Shares: See Pioneer Fundamental Growth, above. [2/07]
  
  Pioneer Mid Cap Growth: See Pioneer Fundamental Growth, above. [2/07]
  
  Thornburg Investment Income Builder: Steve Bohlin retires as manager of this fund's fixed income portfolio. Jason Brady replaces him. [2/07]
  
  Vanguard Windsor II: Equinox Capital Management and Tukman Capital Management are fired as two of the fund's five outside managers (i.e., subadvisors; Vanguard also manages a small piece of the fund in-house). Lazard Asset Management is added to the management team, and will take over "a majority of the assets from the portfolios formerly managed by Equinox and Tukman." Andrew Lacey and Christopher Blake are handling day-to-day responsibilities for Lazard. [2/07]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2007
  
  Allianz NFJ funds (several): E. Clifton Hoover resigns from subadvisor NFJ; he is headed for a co-manager job at DWS Dreman High Return Equity. Hoover's departure triggers a manager shuffle at each of the Allianz NFJ funds (effective November 1, 2006), as follows:
  
  

  Allianz NFJ fund	Previous management team (departures in red)	New management team (arrivals in green)
  Dividend Value	E. Clifton Hoover (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer Jeffrey Partenheimer	Benno Fischer (lead) Chris Najork Jeffrey Partenheimer Thomas Oliver
  International Value	E. Clifton Hoover (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer	Benno Fischer (lead) Chris Najork Thomas Oliver R. Burns McKinney
  Large-Cap Value	Paul Magnuson (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer Jeffrey Partenheimer E. Clifton Hoover	Paul Magnuson (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer Jeffrey Partenheimer
  Mid-Cap Value	Jeffrey Partenheimer (lead) Benno Fischer E. Clifton Hoover	Jeffrey Partenheimer (lead) Benno Fischer John Johnson Thomas Oliver
  Small-Cap Value	Paul Magnuson (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer E. Clifton Hoover	Paul Magnuson (lead) Chris Najork Benno Fischer R. Burns McKinney
  [1/07]

  
  Aston/ABN AMRO Growth (formerly ABN AMRO Growth): Bernard Myszkowski retires as lead manager. Co-manager Richard Drake takes over, assisted by Steven Sherman. [1/07]
  
  Aston Balanced (formerly ABN AMRO Balanced): Bernard Myszkowski retires as lead manager of this fund's equity portfolio. Myszkowski's co-manager, Richard Drake, will now run this portion of the fund, assisted by Steven Sherman. [1/07]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Energy (formerly Advisor Natural Resources): We're catching up on this one. John Dowd was named co-manager of this fund in May 2006, joining Matthew Friedman, and we didn't report this manager addition, since we usually only report departures. But a reader recently informed us that Dowd is now listed as sole manager of this fund and, sure enough, our reader is corect: Somewhere between May 2006 and September 2006, Friedman left as co-manager, and Dowd is now running this fund solo. [1/07]
  
  Fidelity Select Chemicals: Christopher Bartel heads out the revolving managerial door, after about eight months on the job (at least he beat the record of the previous manager, who lasted only two months). Duffy Fischer is the newest manager to call this fund home, sweet (temporary) home. [1/07]
  
  RiverSource Disciplined International Equity: Jonathan Calvert leaves as co-manager. Dimitris Bertsimis remains in the lead, now joined by Alexander Sauer-Budge. [1/07]
  
  RiverSource Disciplined Small Cap Value: Jonathan Calvert steps down from this three-person management team, and Steve Kokkotos replaces him. [1/07]
  
  RiverSource Retirement Plus (2010 thru 2045): Jonathan Calvert steps down from this four-person management team. No replacement is named. [1/07]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2006
  
  AIM Mid Cap Basic Value: Matthew Seinsheimer is out as a member of this four-person management team, and Michael Chapman replaces him. Also, team member R. Canon Coleman II steps up to the lead manager spot, replacing Bret Stanley, who remains on the team. [12/06]
  
  American Century Small Cap Value: Kevin Laub leaves as this two-person management team, and leaves the firm. Benjamin Giele remains, now assisted by former analyst Steve Roth. [12/06]
  
  American Century Ultra: Jerry Sullivan leaves this fund's three-person management team. Wade Slome and Tom Telford are now in charge. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Diversified Stock: Manager Timothy Cohen is replaced by James Morrow. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth: Jennifer Uhrig leaves as manager (she's headed for Fidelity Blue Chip Growth, below). Jason Weiner takes over for Uhrig. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Equity Value: Stephen DuFour is out as manager, and Scott Offen is now in charge. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Fifty: See Fidelity Fifty, below. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Blue Chip Growth: John McDowell and Brian Hanson are out as mangers, and Jennifer Uhrig takes over. Uhrig is vacating the top spot at Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth, McDowell is retiring, and Hanson is simply shedding one of his funds, leaving him in charge only at Fidelity Advisor Strategic Growth. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Equity Income II: Stephen DuFour is now ex-manager of this fund, giving way to C. Robert Chow. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Fifty: Jason Weiner is gone as manager (this fund has been taken off his plate, as Weiner moves to Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth, above). Peter Saperstone is now in charge. [12/06]
  
  Fidelity Independence: Jason Weiner's move to Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth also triggers a change here: Weiner is no longer in charge, giving up the reins to Robert Bertelson. [12/06]
  
  MFS Growth Opportunities: Irfan Ali is out as co-manager. Maureen Pettirossi will now run this fund solo. [12/06]
  
  MFS Institutional Large Cap Growth: See MFS Mass Investors Growth Stock, below. [12/06]
  
  MFS Mass Investors Growth Stock: Irfan Ali is gone as manager. Jeffrey Constantino takes Ali's place on this three-person team. [12/06]
  
  Pioneer Small Cap Value: The management team of David Adams and Scott McPherson is replaced by Peter Wiley (lead) and Scott Zilora. [12/06]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2006
  
  Evergreen Growth: Theodore Price will retire as lead manager, effective December 29, 2006. No replacement has been named. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Global Capital Appreciation: The management team led by Michael Jenkins is out. The new team consists of Darren Maupin and Victor Thay. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation: See Fidelity Aggressive International, below. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Mortgage Securities: See Fidelity Mortgage Securities, below. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income: See Fidelity Strategic Income, below. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Utilities: See Fidelity Select Utilities Growth, below. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive International: A management team led by Michael Jenkins is out, and Darren Maupin is now in charge. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Disciplined Equity: Steven Snider steps down as manager, and Keith Quinton replaces him. Morningstar reports that Snider is moving over to Pyramis Global Advisors, Fidelity's newly-created money management firm for institutions only. Could this be the start of a brain-drain from Fido's individual money management arm? [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Discretionary: Bob Lee steps down as co-manager, about four months after stepping up to that position. (Nice to see that Fidelity finally has that management turnover problem under control.) Former co-manager Martin Zinny will now run this fund solo, until someone or something else comes along. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Gopal Reddy didn't quite last 12 months as manager. Geoffrey Kuli takes over, and presumably he'll try his best to make it past that always-elusive one-year mark. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Utilities Growth: Brian Younger is gone as manager, and Douglas Simmons takes over. [11/06]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Income: George Fischer leaves as manager of this fund's U.S. Government bond holdings, and Brett Kozlowski now handles that job. [11/06]
  
  Riversource Mid Cap Growth: Duncan Evered is out as manager. John Schonberg takes over as "interim" manager, so at least one more turnover is in the offing. [11/06]
  
  Seligman Capital: Marion Schultheis gone as lead manager, and Erik Voss replaces her. [11/06]
  
  Seligman Growth: See Seligman Capital, above. [11/06]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2006
  
  Evergreen Emerging Markets: Liu-Er Chen leaves as manager and leaves the firm. He's reportedly heading to the Delaware Group, where he will manage an emerging markets fund -- Delaware's gain, and Evergreen's distinct loss. [10/06]
  
  Evergreen Health Care: See Evergreen Emerging Markets, above. [10/06]
  
  Evergreen Utility and Telecommunications: Technically, this is a manager change, even though it might not look like one: Timothy O'Brien moves from employee of Evergreen, and manager of this fund, to owner of his own firm (Crow Point Partners LLC) and subadvisor of this fund (pending shareholder approval). Nice to start off a new money mangement firm with a $400 million fund from your former employer. That chunk of assets should generate about $140,000 a month in management fees for O'Brien's new firm, which we're guessing will cover the rent. [10/06]
  
  Fidelity Blue Chip: Brian Hogan is out as manager, and Charles Hebard takes over. Hebard also runs a Fidelity Select fund (Financial Services) and, remarkably, Hebard hasn't been rotated off that fund -- yet. [10/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Multimedia: John Roth heads out the revolving door, a couple of months after being assigned to run Fidelity New Millennium. Kristina Salen takes over for Roth. [10/06]
  
  Hartford Advisors: Saul Pannell used to be one of five managers assigned to this fund; now, he's gone, although everybody else remains. [10/06]
  
  Hartford Stock: Saul Pannell steps down from this three-person management team. Pannell's colleagues, Steven Irons and Peter Higgins, will carry on without him. [10/06]
  
  Jensen Portfolio: Another founder is gone: Gary Hibler will retire as co-manager, effective February 15, 2007. The remaining co-managers (McIver, Millen, Schoenstein, Zagunis) will run the show without Hibler. [10/06]
  
  UMB Scout Small Cap: David Bagby steps down as co-manager. Bagby's colleagues, Jason Votruba and Adrianne Valkar will continue to be in charge. [10/06; thanks to Adam Bold, of the Mutual Fund Store, for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Vanguard Windsor II: Don't say we didn't give you advance notice: Lead manager James Barrow, of subadvisor Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss, has announced that he will retire within four years. No replacement has been named, but Barrow promises that his successor(s) will each have at least eight years of investing experience at Barrow Hanley. [10/06]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2006
  
  Evergreen Diversified Bond: Richard Cryan is out as a member of this four-person team, and he leaves the firm. Gary Pzegeo replaces him. [9/06]
  
  Evergreen High Yield Bond: Dana Erikson is removed as manager, and also removes himself from the firm. Gary Pzegeo takes over. [9/06; thanks to "Miles Avisles" for alerting us to this and the other Evergreen changes]
  
  Evergreen Select High Yield Bond: See Evergreen Diversified Bond, above. [9/06]
  
  Evergreen Strategic Income: Dana Erikson is out as lead manager of this four-person team, and Gary Pzegeo is now in charge. [9/06]
  
  Fidelity Adviser Health Care: Harlan Carrere is gone as manager, and Aaron Cooper replaces him. [9/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Charles Hebard is now ex-manager of this fund, and Yolanda Taylor takes over. Come on, give him a break: he lasted almost six months. [9/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Health Care: Harlan Carrere steps out the revolving managerial door, and Matthew Sabel takes over. [9/06]
  
  Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities: Kevin Ferguson is out as manager, and Frederick Ruvkun takes over. [9/06]
  
  MainStay Intermediate Term Bond: Christopher Harms resigns from this two-person management team, and Joseph Portera takes over, joining Gary Goodenough. [9/06]
  
  MainStay Mid Cap Opportunity: Kathy O'Connor and Jeffrey Sanders resign as managers. Joan Sabella and Tony Elavia take over. [9/06]
  
  MainStay Small Cap Opportunity: See MainStay Mid Cap Opportunity, above. [9/06]
  
  Phoenix All-Cap Growth: About four months after the departure of manager Gretchen Lash, one of the two remaining managers (Scott Swanson) is also gone. Two new managers come to the rescue: Fran Gillin Cooley and Douglas Couden. [9/06; thanks to "B.L." for bringing this and the other Phoenix changes to our attention]
  
  Phoenix Capital Growth: Engemann is out as manager (subadvisor), and Harris Investment Management is in. In terms of individuals, the Engemann team of David Garza, Michael Manns and Scott Swanson is replaced by the Harris team of T. Andrew Janes (lead), Daniel Sido and Mark Wimer. [9/06]
  
  Phoenix Mid-Cap Growth: Engemann is out as manager (subadvisor), and Harris Investment Management is in -- in other words, the Engemann team of Lou Holtz and Yossi Lipsker is replaced by the Harris team of Mark Wimer (lead), T. Andrew Janes, and Daniel Sido. [9/06]
  
  Phoenix Nifty Fifty: The directors of this fund tried to fire Engemann Asset Management as subadvisor, but they failed to get enough shareholder votes. So Engemann is still running the show, while the directors figure out what to do. Manager Gretchen Lash left in April, and now the fund's entire management team (David Garza, Michael Manns and Scott Swanson) is replaced by the team of Fran Gillin Cooley and Douglas Couden. Chaos, anyone? [9/06]
  
  Turner Midcap Growth: Robert Turner and Bill McVail step down as managers. Christopher McHugh remains as lead manager, now assisted by Tara Hedlund and Jason Schrotberger.[9/06]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2006
  
  American Century International Growth: Michael Perelstein leaves as a member of this two-person management team. Alex Tedder takes over for Perelstein, joining Keith Creveling. [8/06]
  
  American Century International Stock: See American Century International Growth, above. [8/06]
  
  American Century New Opportunities: Tom Telford leaves this three-person team, for American Century Ultra (below). Matthew Ferretti replaces Telford. One other member of the management team (Stafford Southwick) has been on board only since May 1 of this year, and the other member of the management team (Harold Bradley) is the firm's chief investment officer for "U.S. Growth Equities." If Bradley is a hands-on CIO -- there are a few of them, we hear -- then shareholders of this fund can feel comfortable that it's run by an experienced manager with some institutional history. If Bradley is a 30,000-foot kind of guy, then this fund is now run by a couple of rookies. [8/06]
  
  American Century Ultra: Bruce Wimberly says goodbye to his two fellow managers, and leaves the firm. Tom Telford takes over for Wimberly. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Korea: Manager Wilson Wong is gone -- like his predecessor, a one-year wonder. David Urquhart is now in charge. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Dividend & Income: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income Fund, below. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy: Manager Matthew Friedman heads out the revolving door, to take over Fidelity Value Strategies (below). John Dowd will occupy the managerial chair for a while. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals: Harlan Carrere is out as manager, and Andy Oh takes over. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income: Brian Hogan steps down as manager, and Scott Offen takes over the equity portions of the portfolio. Lead managers Christopher Sharpe and Derek Young continue. [8/06]
  
  Fidelity Value Strategies: Richard Fentin is out as manager, and Matthew Friedman is in. [8/06]
  
  Hartford Income: Edward Vaimberg leaves as co-manager. Former colleague William Davison continues to run the fund, now assisted by Jeffrey MacDonald and Charles Moon. [Change effective 8/06; posted 10/06]
  
  ING International: Richard Saler and Philip Schwartz are goING, goING, gone as managers of this fund. Uri Landesman takes over. [8/06]
  
  Janus Mid Cap Value: Bob Perkins (a.k.a., "the senior Perkins") is no longer listed as co-manager for this fund (but he's still in charge of Janus Small Cap Value, below). Bob's former co-managers, Tom Perkins and Jeffrey Kautz, now run the show at this fund, with Tom Perkins officially designated as "lead Co-Manager." Am I the only one who gets an oxymoronic headache from the title "lead Co-manager"? Excuse me, a dinner of "jumbo shrimp" is waiting for me, after which I'll play a tune on my "baby grand," and then cheer my favorite high-school basketball team from the "indoor bleachers." [8/06; thanks to long-time FundAlarm reader Margaret Menzin for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Janus Small Cap Value: Tom Perkins is no longer listed as co-manager. Tom's former teammates, Bob Perkins and Todd Perkins, will carry on as co-managers without him, with Bob Perkins now assuming the title of "lead Co-manager. Aargh. [8/06]
  
  Legg Mason Partners Capital and Income: Lead manager Mark McAllister is removed from the equity portion of this fund (it looks like co-manager Michael Sedoy is gone, too). Robert Gendelman is now in charge. [8/06]
  
  Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income: Co-manager Kevin Caliendo leaves the fund and leaves the firm. Michael Kagan will now run this fund solo. [8/06]
  
  MainStay MAP: Jennison Associates is fired as one of two subadvisors for this fund. Institutional Capital (ICAP) takes over. Robert Lyon and Jerrold Senser are listed as the new day-to-day managers for ICAP's portion of the portfolio. [8/06]
  
  MainStay Total Return: Christopher Harms, a principal of subadvisor MacKay Shields, is out as manager. Joseph Portera, also of MacKay Shields, takes over. [8/06]
  
  Salomon Brothers Capital: Kevin Caliendo leaves as manager and leaves the firm. Brian Posner and Brian Angerame take over. [8/06]
  
  Salomon Brothers Mid Cap: Same as Salomon Brothers Capital, above. [8/06]
  
  Salomon Brothers Small Cap Growth: Kevin Caliendo leaves this four-person team, and Robert Feitler replaces him. [8/06]
  
  Sentinel Mid Cap Growth: A quick two-step manager change. Effective June 6, 2006, Robert Lee was out as manager, and Elizabeth Bramwell took over. Then, as of June 22, Bramwell was out and Paul Kandel is now in charge. Kandel informs us that he will be around "much longer" than a couple of weeks. [8/06]
  
  Vanguard Tax-Managed Growth & Income: Corey Holeman leaves as manager, and leaves the firm, to "pursue a business endeavor" with his family. Michael Perre takes over for Holeman, joining the indexing team of Michael Buek, Duane Kelly and Christopher Ryon. [8/06]
  
  Victory Special Value: Pat Dunkerley is out a manager, and Leslie Globits takes over. [Change effective 8/06; posted 10/06. Thanks for this tip to a "very angry fund analyst" who should have learned about this change immediately, and directly from the fund company, but only found out later as an "oh by the way" comment.]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2006
  
  Delaware Emerging Markets: Mondrian Investment Partners will resign as outside manager (i.e., subadvisor), effective September 24, 2006. Delaware is looking for a replacement. [7/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Consumer Industries: See Fidelity Select Consumer Industries, below. [7/06]
  
  Fidelity New Millennium: Neal Miller is out as manager, and John Roth replaces him. [7/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Automotive: Anmol Mehra is removed as manager, and Alton Miles III takes over. [7/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Industries: John Roth leaves as manager (he's headed for Fidelity New Millennium above). Martin Zinny and Robert Lee take over as co-managers. [7/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Home Finance: Valerie Friedholm leaves as manager, an old-timer in the world of Fidelity Select funds (tenure=2 years, 1 month). Richard Manuel is now in charge. [7/06]
  
  Hartford Global Technology: Vikram Murthy leaves as a member of this fund's six-person management team, and now there are five in charge. [7/06]
  
  Janus Olympus: Claire Young leaves as manager; the relatively young Young (age 40) says that she is retiring from the money management business. Young is replaced by Ron Sachs, who will continue to manage Janus Orion. [7/06]
  
  Janus Triton: Blaine Rollins "retires" as manager, and leaves the firm. But Rollins, who was kicked off the flagship Janus fund in February, should take heart: It's going to take two -- count 'em, two -- research analysts, to replace him (Brian Schaub and Chad Meade). [7/06]
  
  RiverSource tax-exempt funds (nine of them): David Kerwin is out as lead manager, and Richard LaCoff takes over as "lead manager for all team-managed, RiverSource tax-exempt portfolios," including RiverSource Tax-Exempt High Income, the largest of the bunch. [7/06]
  
  Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth: Provident Investment Counsel is fired as one of two outside managers. Provident's 40% portion of the fund will be reallocated to Chartwell Investment Partners, the continuing manager, and new manager William Blair & Company. Both managers will end up managing equal portions of the portfolio. [7/06]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2006
  
  AIM Technology: William Keithler leaves as co-manager, and Michelle Fenton now runs this fund solo. [Change effective May 1, 2006; posted 6/06]
  
  Citizens Global Equity: McLean Budden is fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and Jonathan White, Chief Investment Officer at Citizens, takes over. [6/06]
  
  Domini European Social Equity: Sylvia Han, and employee of subadvisor Wellington Management, leaves as day-to-day manager. Doris Dwyer is now in charge. [6/06]
  
  Heartland Value: Eric Miller leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Hugh Denison replaces Miller. Some of you may remember Mr. Denison from his appearance several years ago on a legal complaint filed by the SEC:
  
  
  Mr. Denison earned his defendant status for his role in the massive portfolio losses suffered by Heartland's high-yield muni-bond funds in October 2000 (at the time, Denison was a member of Heartland's board of directors). As we noted a couple of years ago, when Mr. Denison joined the team managing Heartland Select Value, you or I probably couldn't be elected treasurer of the local investment club with a resume like his, but now Mr. Denison has been promoted to manage a second Heartland fund. The SEC lawsuit is still pending. [6/06]
  
  Heartland Value Plus: Eric Miller leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Separately, Bill Nasgovitz also excuses himself from the management team. According to a May 22, 2006 prospectus supplement, D. Rodney Hathaway and Bradford Evans will "continue" to manage this fund. We're not sure how Evans got onto the management team, since his name doesn't show up in the fund's May 2005 prospectus, or any of the subsequent prospectus supplements prior to the May 2006 supplement. The Heartland Web site shows that Evans' joined the Value Plus management team in "5/06," so it looks like he snuck in there just in time for the Miller departure. Quite convenient. [6/06]
  
  MFS Mid Cap Growth: Back in June 2006, we reported the departure of David Sette-Ducati. We surmised that Sette-Ducati's co-manager David Earnest, would remain in charge, but we surmised wrong: Earnest lasted almost no time at all, and (as a reader pointed out to us) this fund has been run by Matthew Krummell since June 2006. [6/06]
  
  MFS Mid Cap Growth: One manager left in December 2005, and now David Sette-Ducati will retire from the firm, effective June 30, 2006. It looks like co-manager David Earnest, who's been with the fund only since the previous manager change (December 2005), is now top dog. [6/06]
  
  MFS Mid Cap Value: We're catching up on this MFS fund, too. As of June 2006, Constantinos Mokas was out as manager, and Jonathan Sage is now in charge. [6/06]
  
  Oak Value: Matthew Sauer is no longer a member of this three-person management team -- officially it's a "resignation," though some might call it "career preservation." David Carr and Larry Coats continue in charge. [6/06]
  
  Putnam Fund for Growth and Income: Hugh Mullin is removed as "portfolio leader," and leaves the firm. Joshua Brooks moves up from "portfolio member," and will now be co-portfolio leader with Eric Harthun, who's coming over from Putnam Small Cap Value. David King will be the only "portfolio member" left, since Christoper Miller is also leaving the team. FundAlarm comments: This fund is Putnam's biggest offering and, far from being the firm's shining beacon, it's been a more like a dirty, 20-watt light bulb for at least a decade. If Putnam can't turn this fund around, nobody's going to believe the firm's bigger turnaround story. Maybe Putnam can merge this $15 billion albatross into one of its other good large-cap value funds. Oh, wait, our mistake: Putnam doesn't have any other good large-cap value funds. [6/06]
  
  Putnam Small Cap Value: Eric Harthun leaves as "portfolio member" (he's headed for Putnam Fund for Growth and Income, above, where he will be co-portfolio leader). Michael Petro replaces Harthun, and Edward Shadek remains in charge. [6/06]
  
  Westcore Flexible Income: A few months ago, we reported that Jerome Powers will retire as co-manager, effective August 1, 2006. On April 28, one of the fund's three remaining comanagers (Alex Lock) also bailed out, leaving Mark McKissick and William Stafford as a management team of two. [6/06]
  
  Westcore MIDCO Growth: Lisa Ramirez leaves as one of three co-managers. Jeffrey Payne and F. Wiley Reed continue as co-managers, with William Chester continuing as lead manager. [Change effective March 31, 2006; posted 6/06]
  
  Westcore Plus Bond: See Westcore Flexible Income, above. [6/06]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2006
  
  American Century My Retirement (2015/2025/2035/2045): Gina Sanchez leaves as a member of the management team, and leaves the firm. Jeff Tyler continues as lead manager, and Irina Torelli continues to assist him. [5/06]
  
  American Century One Choice (Conserv/Mod/Aggr/VConserv/VAggr): See American Century My Retirement, above. [5/06]
  
  American Century Select: John Sykora leaves as a member of this three-person team, and leaves the firm. Harold Bradley takes over for Sykora, at least temporarily. [5/06]
  
  American Century Strategic Allocation (Conserv/Mod/Aggr): See American Century My Retirement, above. [5/06]
  
  Dreyfus Basic U.S. Mortgage Securities: See Dreyfus GNMA, below. [5/06]
  
  Dreyfus GNMA: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager and leaves the firm (he's headed off to Harvard, specifically Harvard Management Company). Former co-manager Robert Bayston is now in charge. [5/06]
  
  Dreyfus Core Bond: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager and leaves the firm (he's joining Harvard Management Company). Lead manager Kent Wosepka will run this fund solo. [5/06]
  
  Dreyfus GNMA: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager of this fund, and leaves the firm (he's joining Harvard Management Company). Robert Bayston is now in charge (see Dreyfus GNMA, above). As far as we can tell, Bayston was never listed as co-manager of Dreyfus GNMA, even though Dreyfus thinks he was. [5/06]
  
  Dreyfus Managed Income: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager and leaves the firm (he's joining Harvard Management Company). Former lead manager Kent Wosepka is still in charge, assisted by an "investment committee." George Noyes also had been listed as a co-manager of this fund, and he's now MIA. Perhaps he's been subsumed by that "investment committee." [5/06]
  
  Evergreen Aggressive Growth: Maureen Cullinane retires as manager, and Aziz Hamzaogullari replaces her. [5/06; thanks, as always, to "Miles Avisles" for bringing this, and the other Evergreen changes, to our attention]
  
  Evergreen Large Company Growth: See Evergreen Aggressive Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Evergreen Mid Cap Growth: Gary Craven retires as manager, and Donald Bisson takes over. [5/06]
  
  Evergreen Omega: See Evergreen Aggressive Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Chemicals: Manager Jill Jortner leaves after about two months on the job and also leaves the firm, to "pursue new professional opportunities in New York, anything without those stinking chemicals" (OK, we made up that last part). Chris Bartel takes over. [5/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Computers: James Morrow is out as manager which proves, again, that the manager obsolescence cycle for this fund is even more dramatic than the technical obsolescence cycle of the computers those managers are supposed to follow. (In case anyone is even remotely interested, Morrow was this fund's ninth manager in 10 years.) Heather Lawrence takes over, warily. [5/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: Jill Jortner leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Chris Bartel and Lindsay Connor take over. [5/06]
  
  JHancock Growth Trends: Anurag Pandit leaves as manager of the technology portion of this fund, and leaves the firm. Thomas Norton takes over for Pandit. [5/06]
  
  JHancock Multi Cap Growth: Anurag Pandit leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Thomas Norton takes over. [5/06]
  
  JHancock Technology: Same as JHancock Multi Cap Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  JHancock Technology Leaders: Same as JHancock Multi Cap Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Merrill Fundamental Growth: Lawrence Fuller retires as manager, and associate manager Thomas Burke takes over. [5/06]
  
  Merrill Global Growth: See Merrill Fundamental Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Morgan Stanley American Opportunities: Michelle Kaufman steps down as lead manager. The remaining members of the team (Dennis Lynch, David Cohen, Sam Chainani and Alexander Norton) will carry on without her. [5/06]
  
  Munder Balanced: John Adams leaves as manager of this fund's large-cap value segment; Adams is now Munder's Chief Investment Officer. Joseph Skornicka replaces Adams, and Thomas Wald joins the (now) eight-person party management team, bringing his expertise in the health care industry. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix All-Cap Growth: Gretchen Lash leaves as lead manager, and leaves Engemann Asset Management, her employer and the day-to-day manager of this fund. Former co-managers Lou Holtz and Scott Swanson now run this fund as a team. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Balanced: Dong Hao Zhang leaves as co-manager of the equity portion of this fund, and Steven Colton now has sole responsibility in that area. David Albrycht remains as sole manager of the fixed income slice. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Capital Growth: Gretchen Lash leaves as lead manager, and leaves Engemann Asset Management, her employer and the day-to-day manager of this fund. The change doesn't really matter, since Engemann has been fired, and Harris Investment Management, Inc. (Chicago) is about to take over. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Growth & Income: Dong Hao Zhang leaves as co-manager, and Steven Colton now runs this fund solo. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Income & Growth: See Phoenix Balanced, above. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Mid-Cap Growth: See Phoenix Capital Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Nifty Fifty: Not so nifty for manager Gretchen Lash and Engemann: See Phoenix Capital Growth, above. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Small-Cap Growth: Gretchen Lash leaves as lead manager, and leaves Engemann Asset Management, her employer and the day-to-day manager of this fund. It appears that former co-managers Lou Holtz and Yossi Lipsker will now be in charge. [5/06]
  
  Phoenix Worldwide Strategies: Dong Hao Zhang leaves as co-manager of the Engemann portion of this fund (i.e., the domestic portion), and Steven Colton now runs that slice solo. [5/06]
  
  Putnam Europe Equities: Lead manager Heather Arnold and "portfolio member" Mark Pollard have apparently bailed out of this fund, some time in the past couple of months. Former "portfolio member" (i.e., associate manager) Joshua Byrne is now running this fund solo. Memo to Putnam's compliance people: The fund's prospectus on your Web site hasn't been updated to reflect this change, and the SEC would probably like to know about it, too. [5/06]
  
  Standish Mellon Fixed Income: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager of this fund, and leaves the firm (he's joining Harvard Management Company). Former co-manager Catherine Powers continues at the helm, assisted now by Kent Wosepka. [5/06]
  
  Standish Mellon Investment Grade Bond: Marc Seidner leaves as co-manager of this fund, and leaves the firm (he's joining Harvard Management Company). Former co-manager Catherine Powers remains in charge, assisted now by Christopher Pellegrino. [5/06]
  
  T. Rowe Price Global Technology: Robert Gensler steps down as manager (he's still in charge of T. Rowe Price Global Stock). Jeffrey Rottinghaus (who?) takes over for Gensler. FundAlarm comments: Several months ago, when we were looking for a tech fund to replace Allianz RCM Global Technology, this fund was first on our list, and we didn't invest only because it wasn't available through our broker's mutual fund platform. We were disappointed at the time. Now we're not. Such seemingly random turnover, even at a quality shop like T. Rowe Price, is enough to make one swear off actively-managed funds entirely, and chuck all of this nonsense in favor of index funds. (I see, Mr. Weitz, that we still have much work to do on your attitude.)[5/06]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2006
  
  Allianz NACM Growth: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and David Pavan leave the fund. Nutt and Pavan are employees of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management (NACM), this fund's subadvisor, and they also have left NACM (with several other NACM personnel) to start their own firm. Horacio Valeiras, James Li and Jane Edmondson, of NACM, take over for Nutt and Pavan, with Valeiras in the lead. [4/06]
  
  Allianz NACM International: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and David Vaughn, employees of subadvisor Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management (NACM), leave the fund. Horacio Valeiras and Steven Tael, of NACM, are the new managers, with Valeiras in the lead. [4/06]
  
  American Funds American Balanced: J. Dale Harvey and Mark MacDonald, two of six managers running this fund, are gone. They are replaced by Alan Berro, James Mulally and Dina Perry, boosting the management team to seven. [4/06]
  
  American Funds Fundamental: Twenty-eight year veteran Gordon Crawford is replaced by Brady Enright, who has about 14 years of investment experience (nine with the American Funds). Ronald Morrow appears in the current prospectus as the fifth member of this fund's management team, and he's shown as having three years of experience working on this fund. Problem is, Morrow isn't listed as a manager of this fund in any previous prospectus, going back to 2000, so we're not exactly sure how Morrow got those three years of experience. Perhaps a home study course. [4/06]
  
  American Funds Investment Company of America: Dina Perry, one of nine managers on this fund, is replaced by J. Dale Harvey. (Look above, at American Balanced, and you'll see that Perry returned the favor by replacing Harvey.) [4/06]
  
  AssetMark Small/Mid Cap Growth: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and Todd Wolter leave the fund. Nutt and Wolter are employees of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management (NACM), one of two subadvisors for this fund, and they have left NACM (with several other NACM personnel) to start their own firm. We're assuming that NACM employees Horacio Valeiras and Mark Roemer (who's currently a "portfolio specialist" on this fund), will replace Nutt and Wolter as managers, although AssetMark hasn't yet filed an official announcement with the SEC. [4/06]
  
  Baron Fifth Avenue Growth: It looks like Ron Baron's annual shareholder meetings/musical extravaganzas weren't enough to keep manager Mitch Rubin from leaving this fund and leaving the firm (Rubin is starting a hedge fund with Morty Schaja, who had been president of Baron's money mangement firm). Baron is looking for new large cap manager to run this fund solo. Until then, the fund will be managed by the team of Ron Baron, Cliff Greenberg and Andrew Peck. [4/06; Update @ 5/06: Randall Haase takes over as permanent manager]
  
  Baron iOpportunity: iGuess it wasn't opportunity enough, because Mitch Rubin leaves as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Michael Lippert takes over. [4/06]
  
  BNY Hamilton International Equity: Robert Windsor leaves as comanager. Todd Rose, who replaces Windsor, will "share equally all portfolio management responsibilities" with continuing comanager Lloyd Buchanan.[4/06]
  
  BNY Hamilton Small Cap Growth: John Lui is out as manager, and Arthur Weise takes over. [4/06]
  
  Calvert World Values International Equity: GMO (Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterlloo & Co.) is fired as outside manager (i.e., subadvisor), and Acadian Asset Management takes over. [4/06]
  
  Columbia Real Estate Equity: We missed this one: David Jellison is gone as manager of this struggling fund, effective October 2005. He's replaced by Robert McConnaughey and David Hoffman. [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Brian Kennedy is replaced as manager, and Charles Hebard takes over. [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Business Services and Outsourcing: Nicola Stafford is now the ex-manager of this fund, and the team of Jim Morrow and Ben Hesse takes over. Team management is rare for Select funds. It may be that the higher-ups at Fidelity have a mandate to create maximum confusion, and replacing two managers at a time (as will happen here, sooner rather than later) is one way to make the Select funds even more chaotic. Just a theory. [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Insurance: Charles Hebard heads out the managerial revolving door, and Stephen Hermsdorf comes on in for a while. [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products: Anmol Mehra is removed as manager, and a team of managers takes over (Chris Bartel and Justin Bennett). Do we spot a team trend here? [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Retirement: Lionel Harris steps down as manager, after about four months on the job, and Charles Myers takes over. [4/06]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Value: Katherine Lieberman is out as manager, and Thomas Hense is in. [4/06]
  
  George Putnam Fund of Boston: Two of four portfolio members (Michael Abata and Kevin Cronin) step down from this fund to concentrate on other responsibilities. Geoffrey Kelley, a quant guy from Putnam's high-yield bond group, joins the team. [4/06]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate Growth Equity: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and Todd Wolter leave this fund, and leave the firm. Remaining comanager Horacio Valeiras is joined by Mark Roemer. Four other members of Nicholas-Applegate's systematic investment team have followed Nutt and Wolter out the door, including two other mutual fund managers (David Vaughn and David Pavan; see these additional Nicholas-Applegate changes immediately below). The departing managers reportedly couldn't reach an agreement with Nicholas-Applegate over their compensation. Nutt was fired before he could quit, for taking steps to form his own firm, which Nicholas-Applegate contends was in violation of his employment agreement. Nutt, Wolter, et al. have started their own shop in San Diego, ClariVest Asset Management LLC, in case you'd like to send them a card. [4/06]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate U.S. Systematic Large Cap Growth: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and David Pavan leave this fund, and leave the firm. Horacio Valeiras takes over as lead manager, assisted by newly-appointed James Li and Jane Edmondson. [4/06]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate U.S. Systematic Mid Cap Growth: Comanagers Stacey Nutt and Todd Wolter leave this fund, and leave the firm. Horacio Valeiras takes over as lead manager, assisted by newly-appointed Mark Roemer. [4/06]
  
  Pacific Capital Small Cap: This fund is subadvised by Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management (NACM), and comanager Stacey Nutt has left NACM to start his own firm. We're assuming that Horacio Valeiras, of NACM, will replace Nutt, although Pacific Capital hasn't yet filed an official announcement with the SEC. [4/06]
  
  Putnam Capital Appreciation: James Yu leaves as a portfolio member, and leaves the firm. Yu is not being replaced, so this fund will now be run by continuing portfolio leader James Wiess, assisted by portfolio members Richard Cervone and Joseph Joseph [sic]. [4/06]
  
  Putnam Equity Income: Jeanne Mockard leaves this three-person team; according to Putnam, she will "focus her attention" as portfolio leader of The George Putnam Fund of Boston. New hire Austin Kairnes takes over for Mockard, joining two continuing members of the team (lead manager Bartlett Geer and portfolio member Kevin Cronin).[4/06]
  
  Putnam Growth Opportunities: Saba Malak leaves as a portfolio member. He is not being replaced, so this fund will now be run by its two continuing portfolio leaders, Robert Ginsberg and Kelly Morgan. [4/06]
  
  Putnam High Yield: Geoffrey Kelley leaves as a portfolio member, to work on The George Putnam Fund of Boston. Kelley is not replaced, so this fund will now be run by continuing portfolio leader Paul Scanlon, assisted by portfolio members Norman Boucher and Robert Salvin. [4/06]
  
  Putnam High Yield Advantage: See Putnam High Yield, above. [4/06]
  
  Putnam International Capital Opportunities: Christoper Crawford leaves as a portfolio member, and leaves the firm. Franz Valencia replaces him. [4/06]
  
  Putnam Investors: James Yu leaves as a portfolio member, and leaves the firm. Yu is not being replaced, so this fund will now be run by continuing portfolio leader James Wiess, assisted by portfolio member Richard Cervone. [4/06]
  
  Putnam Tax-Smart Equity: See Putnam Investors, above. [4/06]
  
  Putnam Voyager: See Putnam Growth Opportunities, above. [4/06]
  
  Vanguard Morgan Growth: Lead manager Robert Rands, of subadvisor Wellington Management Company, will retire at the end of 2006. Paul Marrkand will take over the Weelington portion of this fund from Rands. [4/06]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2006
  
  AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth: Thomas Kamp leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Kamp is replaced by five members of AllianceBernstein's U.S. Large Cap Growth Investment Team (James Reilly, David Handke, Scott Wallace, Michael Reilly, and Syed Hasnain). [3/06]
  
  Davis Opportunity: Kent Whitaker leaves this eight-person management team, and leaves the firm. According to a prospectus supplement, Whitaker's duties will be "absorbed" by the seven remaining managers, who will apparently be using the newly-introduced "Management Responsibilities Sponge," from DuPont. [3/06]
  
  Evergreen Strategic Value: We missed this one: Effective January 2, 2006, Timothy O'Grady is no longer lead manager, and William Zieff has taken over. John Gray, Donald Jones, and C. Thomas Meisse, who were listed as co-managers with O'Grady, are also gone. [3/06]
  
  Fidelity Select funds (several)
  
  

  Fidelity fund	Old manager	New manager
  Select Banking	Heather Lawrence	Ramona Persaud
  Select Chemicals	Matthew Friedman	Jill Jortner
  Select Construction and Housing	Ramona Persaud	Nora Creedon
  [3/06]

  
  ICON funds: Three managers are gone from three different ICON funds, and newcomer Todd Burchett takes over on all three. The affected funds (and the previous managers, in parentheses) are as follows:
  
  

  ICON Bond (Derek Rollingson)

  ICON Industrials (J.C. Waller III)

  ICON Telecommunications and Utilities (Robert Strauss)

  
  FundAlarm comments: Burchett seems a little light on experience -- make that "a lot light" on experience. He has a B.A. in economics from Stanford and an MBA from Ohio State, but he's never even come close to managing a mutual fund before (and now he's going to manage both bond and equity funds). His entire employment history appears to consist of two jobs: a "research and teaching assistant" at Ohio State and, before that, he was a public school teacher in Vermont. Maybe he won some kind of "Become A Fund Manager" contest. [3/06]
  
  Ivy Core Equity: Jim Wineland is out as manager, replaced by Eric Becker and Gus Zinn. Wineland remains at the helm of two other Waddell & Reed funds (Advisors Core Investment and Target Core Equity). [3/06]
  
  Ivy High Income: Louise Reike is out as manager, and Bryan Krug is in. Reike still manages Waddell & Reed Advisors High Income. [3/06]
  
  Janus Global Technology: Manager Mike Lu either jumps or is pushed, but he's no longer in charge of this fund, and he's no longer employed by Janus. (Sandy Rufenacht, a former Janus manager, describes Lu as a "genius."* Over the past five years, Lu has turned each $10,000 entrusted to him into $5,733 -- proof, if proof was ever needed, that genius can be difficult to live with.) A seven-person team, led by Brad Slingerland and Barney Wilson, takes over for Lu. [3/06]
  * denverpost.com, February 3, 2006
  
  Selected Special: See Davis Opportunity, above. [3/06]
  
  Vanguard Dividend Growth: Minerva Butler is out as manager, thereby reducing to zero the number of U.S. mutual funds run by someone with the name Minerva. Donald Kilbride takes over. [3/06]
  
  Vanguard Strategic Equity: Joel Dickson is gone as manager, replaced by James Troyer. [3/06]
  
  Waddell & Reed Advisors Tax-Managed Equity: Barry Ogden is out as manager, and Chace Brundage takes over. Ogden remains in charge of Waddell & Reed Advisors Accumulative and Ivy Capital Appreciation (Ivy is a subsidiary of Waddell & Reed). [3/06]
  
  Westcore Flexible Income: Jerome Powers will retire as co-manager, effective August 1, 2006. Remaining comanagers Alex Lock, Mark McKissick, and William Stafford will carry on without him. [3/06]
  
  Westcore Plus Bond: See Westcore Flexible Income, above. [3/06]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2006
  
  AIM Advantage Health Science: Michael Yellen leaves as lead manager, and Derek Taner takes over (Taner was an assistant manager on this fund). Sunaina Murthy, who had been shown in this fund's prospectus as a "Senior Analayst," is nowhere to be found. [2/06]
  
  AIM Global Health Care: See AIM Advantage Health Science, above. [2/06]
  
  AIM Multi-Sector: Michael Yellen leaves this five-person team, and Derek Taner replaces him. [2/06]
  
  Fidelity Europe: Frederic Gautier leaves as manager, and Trygve Toraasen is now in charge. Gautier lasted less than six months. [2/06]
  
  Fidelity International Real Estate: Steven Buller is out as manager, and Matthew Lentz takes over. This manager change was effective January 1, 2006, so Fidelity waited exactly zero days into the new year before resuming its famous Manager Shuffle. [2/06]
  
  Janus: Blaine Rollins is out as manager, and David Corkins takes over. FundAlarm comments: Investors in this fund might well wonder which Corkins is going to show up: The Corkins with six-plus outstanding years at Janus Growth & Income, or the Corkins who could never get Janus Mercury off the ground? If (in some alternate universe) we actually owned this fund, we'd be inclined to give Corkins a year or so to show what he can do. [2/06]
  
  Janus Mercury: David Corkins is reassigned as manager (he's taking over the flagship Janus fund). This fund will now be run by Janus' "research team," led by Research Director Jim Goff. FundAlarm comments: Think of this manager change as Janus' tip-of-the-hat to major league baseball. Just as baseball teams scour their minor leagues, and bring promising players up to the big leagues, Janus is going to try out several of its analysts on a big-time fund. Oh, wait, our analogy is flawed: The entire Janus team is a bunch of rookies. What major league club would be foolish enough to field a whole team of baseball rookies? [2/06]
  
  Janus Triton: Ron Sachs moves aside as manager. Sachs is replaced by Blaine Rollins, who's coming over from the flagship Janus fund. Rollins is now in charge of an asset base which would have been slightly more than a rounding error at his previous charge. On the bright side, Rollins is likely to have some extra time to update his resume. [2/06]
  
  Legg Mason Special Investment: Bill Miller steps down as co-manager, and Sam Peters will now run this fund solo. [2/06]
  
  Masters' Select Smaller Companies: David Anthony (of Ranger Investment Management) is fired as one of this fund's five subadvisors, and Anthony's 20% slice of the portfolio is reallocated to the remaining four managers. Anthony won't immediately be replaced, but Litman/Gregory (the fund's manager) says it's looking for a new small-cap growth specialist to replace him. FundAlarm comments: Litman/Gregory is being tight-lipped about the reasons for Anthony's departure, noting that "it is our policy not to get into the specific reasons why we replace a manager because we want to minimize any negative public feedback directed at the sub-advisor being removed." Gosh, it sounds like they're afraid Anthony will start crying. Also, we suspect, Litman/Gregory is concerned that the fired manager might hire a lawyer, and sue their butt for defamation. Such is the bed you make when you hire people who have lots of money and a reputation to protect. [2/06]
  
  MFS New Endeavor: David Sette-Ducati leaves as manager. This fund is now managed by "sector teams comprised of MFS equity analysts," with "general oversight being provided by Camille H. Lee," an MFS vice president and "associate portfoio manager." [2/06]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Mid-Cap Value: Perkins, Wolf, McDonnell and Company is out as one of this fund's three subadvisors (actually, Perkins, Wolf was a sub-subadvisor, since Janus was the subadvisor, but the work was contracted out to Perkins, Wolf). Kinetics Asset Management has been hired to replace Perkins, Wolf. [2/06]
  
  TA IDEX T. Rowe Price Health Sciences: T. Rowe Price is fired as subadvisor, and Evergreen Investment Management takes over. Liu-Er Chen, who runs Evergreen Health Care, has day-to-day responsiblity for this fund. The fund also is renamed TA IDEX Evergreen Health Care. [2/06]
  
  Van Kampen International Advantage: Sandra Yeager and Mark Laskin are no longer listed as fund managers. Eddie Ramos is now "primarily responsible" for day-to-day management. [2/06]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2006
  
  Columbia Acorn International Select: Todd Narter leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Chris Olson now runs this fund solo. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Europe Capital Appreciation: See Fidelity Europe Capital Appreciation, below. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Global Equity: Richard Habermann is removed as manager. Habermann should ask for a raise, because it's going to take seven [!] people to replace him: Lead manager Michael Jenkins, assisted by William Bower, Penelope Dobkin, William Kennedy, Harry Lange, Brian Hogan, and Peter Saperstone. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation: See Fidelity Aggressive International, below. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive International: Manager Richard Mace takes a leave of absence, of unspecified duration. In the interim, the fund will be managed by team leader Michael Jenkins, assisted by William Bower, Penelope Dobkin and William Kennedy. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Europe Capital Appreciation: Ian Hart is out as manager (he's headed for Fidelity Overseas). Taking over for Hart is Darren Maupin. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Global Balanced: Richard Mace takes a leave of absence, of unspecified duration. In the interim, Derek Young will be in charge. Young's first order of business is to find a large conference room, because he's going to have five other Fidelity managers assisting him with this portfolio. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Overseas: Richard Mace is out as manager, and Ian Hart takes over (this is a permanent appointment, not an interim fix, as in two other Fidelity funds above). [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Defense and Aerospace: Christoper Bartel gets rotated out of this managerial job (see his destination, immediately above). Andrew Hatem, a new addition to the pool of interchangeable Fidelity Select managers, takes over. Hatem gets the usual kit supplied to every Fidelity Select manager: A business card with erasable job description, a quick-pack set of desk accessories, a special 800-number in case he forgets which fund he's running, and a photo of a brass ring, which reminds him of the real brass ring (a job running a diversified Fidelity fund) if he's a good boy and plays along with the Fidelity Select charade. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy Service: Nathan Strik is out as manager, and John Dowd is in. [1/06]
  
  Fidelity Worldwide: Richard Mace is out as lead manager. Brian Hogan had also been listed as manager, at least on the Fidelity Web site, and it looks like he's gone, too. Taking over for Mace is Jeffrey Feingold, who will handle the U.S. portion of this fund. William Kennedy will pick the non-U.S. investments. [1/06]
  
  Franklin Equity Income: Derek Taner and Sam Kerner, two-members of this fund's three person management team, are gone. Frank Felicelli is still on the team, joined by two new buddies (Alan Muschott and Edward Perks). It also looks like Muschott is taking over from Felicelli as lead manager. [1/06]
  
  Longleaf Partners: John Buford leaves as co-manager and leaves the firm, to begin his studies for the ministry. Mason Hawkins and Staley Cates remain as co-managers, probably to be joined by one or more newly-promoted analysts.[1/06]
  
  Longleaf Partners Small-Cap: See Longleaf Partners, above. [1/06]
  
  MFS Capital Opportunities: A three-person management team is out (Irfan Ali/Kenneth Enright/Alan Langsner), and a two-person team takes over (Jeffrey Constantino and Gregory Locroft). [1/06]
  
  MFS Growth Opportunities: Gregory Locraft is out as manager. He's replaced by the team of Irfan Ali and Maureen Pettirossi. [1/06]
  
  MFS Institutional Large Cap Growth: Gregory Locraft is removed from this four-person management team, and Maureen Pettirossi takes his place. Stephen Pesek, Irfan Ali and Margaret Adams continue on. [1/06]
  
  MFS Massachusetts Investors Growth Stock: Gregory Locroft is removed as portfolio manager. Locraft is replaced by Maureen Pettirossi, while Stephen Pesek and Irfan Ali continue on. [1/06]
  
  MFS Mid Cap Growth: Eric Fischman is removed as "portfolio manager." David Sette-Ducati remains as "lead portfolio manager," now assisted by David Earnest. [1/06]
  
  MFS Strategic Growth: Irfan Ali is gone as manager, and Eric Fischman is now in charge. [1/06]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2005:
  
  American Century Global Growth: Matthew Hudson leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (for Wellington Management Company). Keith Creveling and Helen O'Donnell take over as co-managers. FundAlarm comments: So far this year, American Century Global Growth has taken up a lot of space on this page. In April, we ran the following item:
  
  

  American Century Global Growth: Henrik Strabo leaves as lead manager of a three-person team, and leaves the firm. Remaining managers Matt Hudson and Trevor Gurwich will run the show by themselves, at least for a while.

  
  Then, in September, we ran another item:
  
  

  American Century Global Growth: Trevor Gurwich steps down as co-manager, and the other half of the team (Matthew Hudson) will now run this fund solo. This fund started out the year with a three-person team, so Hudson may be getting lonely about now...

  
  The departures of Strabo and Hudson are officially due to "personal reasons." Maybe so, maybe not, but this fund also has lost four analysts during the year (who, reportedly, already have been replaced). An American Century spokesperson says that the fund's investment process "doesn't waver depending on who is managing the fund,"* which strikes us as an odd comment. If this fund is truly on autopilot, why would Amercian Century have needed three managers prior to this year to run it? Did one manager read the computer printouts, while the other two napped? Did one of the managers place the orders, while the other two did bobblehead impressions? Whatever the reasons for all this turnover, American Century seems to have a handle on the problem, but that doesn't make it less of a problem. If we owned this fund, we probably wouldn't sell, but we'd watch it very carefully. It's essentially a new fund, and it deserves to be monitored as one. [12/05]
  * "American Century Team Is Getting a New Lineup," Arden Dale, The Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2005
  
  Dreyfus Passport: Tracy Stouffer is out as manager, after about six years on the job. John Evers and Daniel LeVan take over. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology: See Fidelity Select Biotechnology, below. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Growth & Income: See Fidelity Growth & Income II, below. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Large Cap: Timothy Cohen steps down as manager, and Matthew Fruhan takes over. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Small Cap: Harry Lange is out as manager, and James Harmon is in. Lange has bigger fish to fry (or a chance to get fried) at Fidelity Magellan (see below). [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Capital Appreciation: Harry Lange steps down as manager; he is headed for that mountain, or sinkhole, known as Fidelity Magellan (see below). Fergus Shiel, recently returned to Fidelity from hedge-fund land, is put to work here as Lange's replacement. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Export and Multinational: Timothy Cohen leaves as manager (he's headed for Fidelity Growth & Income). Victor Thay replaces Cohen. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Growth & Income: Steven Kaye is removed as manager, and Timothy Cohen (formerly of Fidelity Export and Multinational) takes over. Long-time manager Kaye, who turned this fund into Fidelity's Quiet Stinker, hasn't been reassigned to another fund. Kaye says he is "ready for something new," which may include resume writing. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Growth & Income II: Victor Thay is out as manager, and James Catudal is in. Thay is moving over to Fidelity Export and Multinational. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Magellan: A Big Change, which sees Robert Stansky step down as manager and retire from the firm, while Harry Lange moves in. FundAlarm comments: Lange comes to this fund from Fidelity Capital Appreciation, where he's done an excellent job. But the average asset base of Capital Appreciation during Lange's tenure was about $3 billion, and Magellan's average asset base during the same period was about $72 billion. In other words, Magellan is huge. Lange has been talking about including more small and mid-cap stocks in Magellan's portfolio, but there's a practical limit on how much of that stuff he can buy, as well as its potential impact on overall fund performance. Lange may be able to squeeze out a little extra return by moving a larger portion of Magellan's portfolio overseas (the fund currently has less than 2% foreign exposure, while Capital Appreciation has about 20% of its assets in foreign holdings). Ultimately, however, Lange will succeed or fail with Magellan based on his sector bets: If he overweights (say) the technology sector, and technology stocks come through, he'll do well. If Lange's sector bets don't pan out, he'll probably do worse than Stansky, who tended not to make many sector bets. In the long run, we believe that winning and losing sector bets cancel each other out for even the best sector-betting manager. Which means, essentially, that there's still no reason to own this fund. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock: Since early this year, Steven Calhoun has separately managed a portion of this fund's portfolio, while Shep Perkins handled the rest of the portfolio. Now Calhoun is gone, so that he can pay more attention to additional funds that were piled on him in June (i.e., Fidelity Aggressive Growth and Advisor Aggressive Growth). FundAlarm comments: When Calhoun took over a portion of this fund earlier this year, several observers (including FundAlarm) thought that might signal the start of a trend, and that Fidelity might gradually be moving toward the multi-manager, "counselor" system that American funds has employed so successfully. We were wrong, but we were wrong for a very good reason. The human mind desperately tries to make order out of chaos. Confronted with the seemingly random, chaotic nature of manager assignments (and re-assignments) at Fidelity, our brains struggled to perceive some kind or pattern, to impose some kind of logic, to impute some form of overarching intelligence to the Perkins/Calhoun pairing. Turns out, there was none. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Biotechnology: Harlan Carrere heads out the revolving door, and Rajiv Kaul comes on in. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Aaron Cooper makes it just past the one year mark as manager; in the world of the Select funds, this is referred to as "an eternity." Gopal Reddy takes over. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Gas: Matt Friedman is out as manager, and James McElligott is in. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Growth: James Harmon leaves as lead manager of this three-person team. Harmon's remaining teammates (Lionel Harris and Chuck Myers) have been onboard since April, and they will now share the managerial chores. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Independence: James Harmon leaves as manager, and Rich Thompson takes over. [12/05]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Retirement: Harmon clears the deck as manager, making room for Lionel Harris. [12/05]
  
  RiverSource New Dimensions: Long-time manager Gordon Fines retires, apparently several months ahead of schedule. Fines' recently-added co-manager, Michael Nance (formerly of Putnam and Kobrick) is apparently out of a job, and associate portfolio manager Trisha Schuster is also gone, so it's a whole new team in charge of this fund. The new guys are Robert Ewing and Nick Thakore, who were brought over with much fanfare from Fidelity in 2002. This is all a lot of fuss for a fund that's going to be merged into another fund (Riversource Large Cap Equity) in just a few months. [12/05; thanks to FundAlarm reader "NM" for altering us to these changes]
  
  RS Diversified Growth: Effective April 2005, John Wallace left as co-manager. John Seabern has been running this fund solo ever since. [12/05]
  
  SunAmerica Growth Opportunities: Brian Clifford is out as lead manager, and Tim Pettee is in, at least temporarily. [12/05]
  
  SunAmerica New Century: See SunAmerica Growth Opportunities, above. [12/05]
  
  Vanguard GNMA: Paul Kaplan will retire as manager at the end of June 2006, and Thomas Pappas will take over (in the interim, Pappas has joined the fund as co-manager). Both Kaplan and Pappas are affiliated with Wellington Management Company, the day-to-day manager (subadvisor) of this fund. [12/05]
  
  Vanguard Wellington: Paul Kaplan, who runs the fixed income portion of this fund for subadvisor Wellington Management Company, will retire at the end of June 2006. John Keogh, also of Wellington, joins the fund as co-manager, and Keogh will take over upon Kaplan's departure. [12/05]
  
  Wasatch International Growth: Michael Gerding leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Laura Hoffman is promoted from "Senior Analyst" to run this fund, along with Roger Edgley. Edgley has prior fund management experience (he co-managed Acorn Foreign Forty), while Hoffman appears to have none. [12/05]
  
  Wasatch International Opportunities: Michael Gerding leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. It's a good month for analysts at Wasatch: Former analyst Blake Walker is now in charge, along with Roger Edgley. [12/05]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2005:
  
  AIM funds (several):
  
  

  AIM fund	Old manager (departures in red)	New manager
  Advantage Health Science	Michael Yellin (lead), Kirk Anderson, Sunaina Murthy, Derek Taner, Bryan Unterhalter	Michael Yellin (lead), Sunaina Murthy, Derek Taner
  Constellation	Kenneth Zschappel (lead), Christian Costanzo, Robert Lloyd, Bryan Unterhalter	Lanny Sachnowitz (lead), Kirk Anderson, James Birdsall, Robert Lloyd
  Global Health Care	Michael Yellin (lead), Kirk Anderson, Sunaina Murthy, Derek Taner, Bryan Unterhalter	Michael Yellin (lead), Sunaina Murthy, Derek Taner
  Small Company Growth	Jay Rushin	Juliet Ellis (lead), Juan Hartsfield
  Summit	Robert Lloyd (lead-growth), Bret Stanley (lead-value), Kenneth Zschappel	Robert Lloyd (lead-growth), Bret Stanley (lead-value)
  [11/05]

  
  Alger Capital Appreciation: Teresa McRoberts steps down as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Patrick Kelly will now run this fund solo. [11/05]
  
  Alger Health Sciences: Teresa McRoberts steps down as manager, and leaves the firm, after posting some excellent numbers in her three-and-a-half years at the helm of this fund. Roseanne Ott and Joanne Sayers take over. [11/05]
  
  Alger Socially Responsible: See Alger Capital Appreciation, above. [11/05]
  
  Clipper: Three of the six day-to-day managers of this fund -- James Gipson, Michael Sandler and Bruce Veaco -- will step down at the end of the year. All three were employees of Pacific Financial Research (PFR), which held the management contract to run this fund. PFR, in turn, is an affiliate of Old Mutual Asset Management. Gipson (and presumably his two buddies) reportedly came to the end of their employment contract with PFR/Old Mutual, and couldn't agree on a new one. Effective January 1, 2006, another Old Mutual affiliate (Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss) will "assume leadership" of PFR. Old Mutual would obviously like the newly-reconstituted PFR to continue as manager of Clipper, in order to ensure that the fund's management fees continue to drain into the same corporate coffers. As this issue of FundAlarm is being posted, the directors of the Clipper fund have hired an outside consulting firm (Wilshire Associates), and a search is underway for a possible new management firm. Some observers seem to think this manager search is more than a sham, and that Clipper might end up with a management firm outside of Old Mutual. We don't. After this exhaustive, expensive, world-wide search for new management is over, we predict that -- oh! surprise! -- the new manager of this fund will be PFR, or some other Old Mutual affiiliate. In any event, if you own this fund, it's probably a good idea to hold on, at least until the new manager is named. We'll have more to say at that time. [11/05]
  
  CMG Small Cap Growth: Paul Berlinguet, Thomas Lettenberger, and Steven Lilly had been listed as co-managers of this fund. Lettenberger and Lilly are gone (from the fund and the firm). A prospectus supplement dated September 2, 2005 lists Kenneth Korngiebel as sole manager, with no mention of Berlinguet. A Columbia press release, dated September 6, suggests that Berlinguet is still in charge. If this is really important to you, we suggest that you contact Columbia and let them untangle it. [11/05]
  
  CMG Strategic Equity: Robert Unger is retiring from Columbia, effective November 12, 2005. Emil Gjester will take over. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Greater China: Eric Sandlund is gone from this fund's management team, and gone from Columbia. Fred Copper is added to the management team as lead manager, with the three former co-managers (Deborah Snee, Penny Burgess and Jasmine Huang) continuing in that capacity. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Growth Stock: Paul Blaustein leaves as manager, and leaves Columbia. Paul Berlinguet and John Wilson take over. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Small Company Equity: Steven Lilly and Thomas Lettenberger leave this fund's three-person management team, and leave the firm. So, who was this fund's third manager? According to the fund's prospectus, dated February 1, 2005, that third wheel was Paul Berlinguet. But according to a "fact sheet" on the Columbia Web site, dated June 30, 2005, the third manager was Christian Pineno, and there's no mention of Berlinguet (the fact sheet also mentions a fourth manager, Daniel Cole, who isn't shown in the prospectus at all). In any event, Pineno is definitely lead manager now, and Cole is co-manager. Berlinguet might want to check with Columbia's HR department, because they seem to have forgotten about him. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Strategic Investor: Robert Unger is retiring from Columbia, effective November 12, 2005. Upon his departure, current co-manager Emil Gjester will run this fund solo. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Thermostat: Ralph Wanger retires as co-manager, and Charles McQuaid is now listed on Columbia's Web site as solo skipper. Hint to Columbia's compliance people: It might be nice to update the online prospectus, too. [11/05]
  
  Columbia Young Investor: See Columbia Strategic Investor, above. [11/05]
  
  Fifth Third Small Cap Growth: Daniel Skubiz leaves as co-manager, and he's replaced by Jill Thompson. Scott Billeadaeu remains as lead manager. [11/05]
  
  Fifth Third Strategic Income: Lead manager John Schmitz is replaced by J. Jeffrey Krumpelman. Co-manager Peter Kwiatkowski remains. [11/05]
  
  First American Mid Cap Growth Opportunities: David Lettenberger is out as manager. He's replaced by lead manager Thomas Gunderson, assisted by co-manager Hal Goldstein. [Change effective September 8, 2005; posted 11/05]
  
  First American Small Cap Value: Mark Leslie leaves as manager, and the team of Chad Kilmer and Karen Bowie takes over (lead manager and co-manager, respectively). [Change effective July 25, 2005; posted 11/05]
  
  PIMCO Diversified Income: Manager Mohamed El-Erian leaves to run the Harvard University endowment fund, a pretty nice step up in the world. Curtis Mewbourne takes over, and hopes he will be as lucky some day. [11/05]
  
  PIMCO Emerging Markets Bond: Manager Mohammed El-Erian leaves to run the Harvard University endowment fund, and Michael Gomez replaces him. [11/05]
  
  PIMCO Floating Income: See PIMCO Diversified Income, above. [11/05]
  
  Putnam International New Opportunities: Peter Hadden leaves as a "portfolio member" (i.e., co-manager). Stephen Dexter remains in charge, now with only one co-manager (Denise Selden). [11/05]
  
  Sequoia: William Ruane, one of three managers on this fund, passed away on October 4. It sounds like he was a good guy, and he certainly was a good investor. The other two members of the team, Richard Cunniff and Robert Goldfarb, will carry on. [11/05]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2005:
  
  CMG High Yield: Jeffrey Rippey and Kurt Havnaer leave as managers, and Rippey leaves the firm. Stephen Peacher takes over as lead manager, assisted by co-managers Kevin Cronk and Thomas LaPointe. [10/05]
  
  Columbia Asset Allocation: Jeffrey Rippey leaves as one member of a very large team (Rippey was in charge of non-investment grade bonds). As far as we can tell, Rippey's replacement hasn't been named, but we assume that it will be one, or all, of the Peacher/Cronk/LaPointe team (see CMG High Yield, above, and Columbia High Yield, below). [10/05]
  
  Columbia Balanced: Jeffrey Rippey leaves as co-manager of this fund's fixed income portfolio, and leaves the firm. Leonard Aplet continues on the fixed income side of this fund, joined by Stephen Peacher and Ronald Stahl. [10/05]
  
  Columbia High Yield: See CMG High Yield, above (CMG is the institutional arm of Columbia). [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Dynamic Capital Appreciation: John Porter leaves as manager, and Fergus Shiel takes over. Porter is headed for Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities (see below). Shiel left Fidelity about 2½ years ago, to start his own investment firm. As far as we know, Shiel is the first manager who's returned to Fidelity after departing for a hedge fund, and Fidelity execs are reportedly bursting with pride: "Hey, 1 out of 20 is pretty darn good!" [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities: Bettina Doulton is out as manager, and John Porter is in. [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation: Kevin McCarey leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Richard Mace takes over. [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Overseas: Richard Mace steps down as manager, to clear some room on his plate for his new charges (Fidelity Aggressive International and Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation). Graeme Rockett has been launched as the new manager (bet nobody ever made that joke before!). [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive International: See Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation, above. [10/05]
  
  Fidelity Utilities: Andrew Burzumato leaves as manager, and Douglas Simmons replaces him. [10/05]
  
  Generation Wave Growth: See the Vice Fund, below. [10/05]
  
  Harbor Mid Cap Growth: Wall Street Associates is fired as subadvisor. Old reliable Wellington Management Company is hired to replace Wall Street, bringing Wellington one step closer to running every sub-advised fund in the U.S. Michael Carmen is the Wellington employee who will have day-to-day responsibility for this fund. [10/05]
  
  Neuberger Berman Focus: Kent Simons is out as long-time manager, and co-manager Robert Corman will run this fund solo. Simons is retiring from the firm, but Morningstar reports that Simons plans to provide "some assistance to remaining comanager Robert Corman." Hi, Bob, how's it goin? Well, gotta go. In the meantime, Neuberger warns that Corman plans to "adjust" the fund's portfolio, which may result in "material" capital gain distributions for 2005. If you own this fund, and decide to hold on, you might want to keep on top of the projected capital gains. This could be a good opportunity to take some offsetting capital losses, if you have them, or a good chance to soak up any of your capital loss carryforwards. [10/05]
  
  Oakmark Global: Co-manager Michael Welsh "retires" from Oakmark. Welsh is replaced by Robert Taylor, who joins Welsh's continuing co-manager, Clyde McGregor. [10/05]
  
  Oakmark International: Co-manager Michael Welsh "retires" from Oakmark. Welsh's colleague, David Herro, will now run this fund solo. [10/05; thanks to "Hulk," on the FundAlarm Discussion Board, for spotting and posting these Oakmark changes so quickly]
  
  T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation: Long-time manager Stephen Boesel is retiring "on or about" June 30, 2006. He will be replaced by analysts Jeffrey Arricale and David Giroux. FundAlarm comments: In his four-plus years in charge of this fund, Boesel has posted outstanding numbers (and we were dead wrong, back in September 2001, when we opined that Boesel wasn't up to this job). Replacements Arricale and Giroux have no published track record at this, or any other, fund. It's unlikely that anyone would buy this fund with two rookie managers at the helm, which is often a good way to decide whether you should sell a fund that you already own. If we still need to connect the dots, here goes: We consider this fund a strong candidate for sale, or at least close monitoring. We could be wrong again, but we feel like we're on more solid ground. [10/05]
  
  Vice Fund: Manager Dan Ahrens abruptly resigns as manager, and leaves the firm that manages this fund. Ahrens is replaced by Michael Henry, who won't be encumbered by previous bad habits, since the 25-year old Henry has absolutely no experience managing a mutual fund, or executing a strategy anywhere close to the strategy this fund is supposed to follow. FundAlarm comments: This has always been a silly gimmick fund, but at least Ahrens seemed to have some real passion about the fund's silly mission. Henry doesn't come out of left field to manage this fund, he comes off the street behind the left-field bleachers to manage this fund. There's also been some hint that Ahrens steppped down because he didn't want to be involved with some kind of impropriety at the fund management company. This could get good. But if you own this fund, you absolutely, positively want to observe the fun from the sidelines, so you might want to get your money out, fast. [10/05]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2005:
  
  American Century Emerging Markets: Raymond Kong leaves as co-manager, and reportedly leaves the firm. Michael Donnelly, the other half of Kong's team, will handle this fund solo. [9/05]
  
  American Century Global Growth: Trevor Gurwich steps down as co-manager, and the other half of the team (Matthew Hudson) will now run this fund solo. This fund started out the year with a three-person team, so Hudson may be getting lonely about now. Gurwich has rejoined American Century International Opportunities, where he co-manages with Federico Laffan. [9/05]
  
  Columbia Asset Allocation: See Columbia Liberty, below . [9/05]
  
  Columbia Disciplined Value: Michael Welhoelter is out as manager, and Vikram Kuriyan takes over. [9/05]
  
  Columbia Liberty: Harvey Hirschhorn steps down as manager. Vikram Kuriyan and Karen Wurdack take over, and their official role is to allocate "fund assets among the various assets classes." Actual stock selection is handled by four teams, with more managers involved than you could fit into a small conference room. Still, this is a more intimate group than Columbia Asset Allocation, where nine [!] teams make the stock selections. [9/05]
  
  Dreyfus Midcap Value: Long-time manager Peter Higgins resigns, and leaves the firm. David Daglio, Higgins' former "co-primary portfolio manager," will now run this fund solo. [9/05]
  
  Dreyfus Small Company Value: Peter Higgins resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. David Daglio takes over. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Korea: Manager Michael Gordon doesn't even hang around to see his second Christmas. Wilson Wong is now in charge. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Dividend & Income: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income, below. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income, below. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Europe: Manager David Baverez leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Frederic Gautier takes over. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Four-in-One Index: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income, below. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Computers: Naved Khan is replaced, after about eight months on the job, and James Morrow takes over. Fidelity has said that it's going to turn some of the Select managerial positions into permanent assignments. Obviously not this one, at least not yet. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Gas: Jonathan Zang is replaced, after about eight months on the job, and Matthew Friedman takes over. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income: William Eigen steps down as manager and leaves the firm, probably to go a-hedging. Derek Young and Christopher Sharpe take over. [9/05]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Income: See Fidelity Strategic Dividend & Income, above. [9/05]
  
  JPMorgan Large Cap Growth: Marc Baylin leaves as manager (he's headed for Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation, where he will be co-manager). Baylin's former co-manager, Giri Devulappally, will now run this fund solo. [9/05]
  
  MassMutual Premier Capital Appreciation: Manager Jane Putnam, an employee of this fund's subadvisor (OppenheimerFunds, Inc.), will begin an extended leave of absence from Oppenheimer "by the end of the year." MassMutual hasn't yet announced Putnam's impending departure, let alone her replacement, but we assume it will be the same team that's replacing her at Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation (Bill Wilby and Marc Baylin; see below). [9/05]
  
  MassMutual Premier Global: Manager Bill Wilby, an employee of this fund's subadvisor (OppenheimerFunds, Inc.), will probably move over to Mass Mutual Premier Capital Appreciation sometime before year-end, to take over for Jane Putnam (see above). At that time, we expect that Wilby's current co-manager (Rajeev Bhaman) will become sole lead manager of this fund. [9/05]
  
  Neuberger Berman Regency: The management team of Andrew Wellington and David DiDomenico is out, and S. Basu Mullick takes over. Mullick previously co-managed this fund from its inception in 1999, for about 15 months. [9/05; thanks to Thurman Smith, of Equity Fund Research, Malden, MA, for bringing the item to our attention]
  
  Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation: Manager Jane Putnam "will begin a leave of absence from her position by the end of the year to spend more time with her family." Bill Wilby, long-time manager of Oppenheimer Global, will be named co-manager of Capital Appreciation when Putnam leaves. Wilby will be joined as co-manager by Marc Baylin, who is coming over in early September from JPMorgan Large Cap Growth. [9/05]
  
  Oppenheimer Global: Sometime before the end of the year, manager Bill Wilby will move over to Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation, to replace Jane Putnam. At that time, the current co-manager of Oppenheimer Global (Rajeev Bhaman) will become sole lead manager. [9/05]
  
  Robeco Boston Partners All-Cap Value: Steven Pollack leaves as this fund's "secondary manager," and Duilio Ramallo takes over as co-manager (we're not sure if "co-manager" is the same as "secondary manager" in Boston-Partners speak, or if they're just being sloppy with their language). Harry Rosenbluth remains as co-manager, but he's announced his retirement at the end of 2006. [9/05]
  
  Robeco Boston Partners Large Cap Value: Co-manager Wayne Sharp will retire at the end of this year. David Pyle has been slipped onto the management team during Sharp's last lap, and Pyle will take over for Wayne Sharp when she (yes, she) calls it quits. [9/05]
  
  USAA First Start Growth: Outside manager (subadvisor) Tom Marsico decides that he no longer wants to run this fund, which is aimed at children and their parents. Marsico was reportedly tired of all the germs, the screaming, and the chocolate stains. Just kidding: According to a USAA spokesperson, Marsico gave up the fund because his firm couldn't provide the level of support services need to run it, including giving investors information why certain stocks were included in the fund's portfolio. Marsico is replaced by Mark Baribeau, Pamela Czekanski, and Richard Skaggs, who are members of the large-cap growth team at Loomis Sayles. [9/05]
  
  WM Equity Income: Richard Helm steps down from the, er, helm, and leaves the firm. Randy Yoakum takes over as interim manager, as a "national search" is conducted for Helm's replacement. [Change effective August 1, 2005; posted 9/05]
  
  WM Growth: This fund is currently run by three outside managers (subadvisors), and one of those subadvisors is heading for the hills. Manager Jane Putnam, an employee of subadvisor OppenheimerFunds, Inc., will start an extended leave of absence from Oppenheimer "by the end of the year." WM Growth hasn't yet announced Putnam's impending departure, or her replacement, but we assume it will be the same team that's replacing her at Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation (Bill Wilby and Marc Baylin; see above). [9/05]
  
  WM REIT: Richard Helm leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. David Simpson takes over for Helm. Simpson will continue to run WM Small Cap Value, where he has posted some excellent numbers since the fund's inception in March 2004. [Change effective August 1, 2005; posted 9/05]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2005:
  
  AIM Blue Chip: Monika Degan retires as manager, after about eight years, and we wish we could say that it's been a job well-done. It hasn't. Degan's partner in mediocrity, two-year co-manager Kirk Anderson, will now run this fund solo. [8/05]
  
  Buffalo Micro Cap: John Angrist leaves as member of this four-person management team, and leaves the firm to go a-hedging. Angrist is not being replaced, at least not immediately, so his three former colleagues remain in charge (Kent Gasaway, Bob Male and Grant Sarris). [8/05]
  
  Driehaus International Discovery: Lead manager Emery Brewer and assistant Ivo St. Kovachev are gone. Lynette Schroeder is now in charge. Schroder previously managed this fund from December 1998 to July 2000. Most recently, she was co-manager of American Century International Opportunities, which she left in March of this year. [8/05]
  
  Eaton Vance Small Cap Growth: Toni Shimura leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. No replacement has been named. [8/05; thanks to FundAlarm reader "Miles Avisles" for bringing this and the other Eaton Vance items to our attention]
  
  Eaton Vance Special Equities: See Eaton Vance Small Cap Growth. [8/05]
  
  Eaton Vance Tax Managed Small Cap Growth: See Eaton Vance Small Cap Growth. [8/05]
  
  Guardian Park Avenue: Thomas Sorrell and Matthew Ziehl step down as interim managers, to make room for new manager Manind Govil. [8/05]
  
  Managers Special Equity: Essex Investment Management, which was hired in December 2003 to replace scandal-disgraced PBHG, is fired as one of this fund's five subadvisors (i.e., outside managers). Veredus Asset Management takes over for Essex. [item posted 8/05, change effective 1/05; thanks to FundAlarm reader Frank Buhrman for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Putnam New Opportunities: Paul Marrkand leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm (for Wellington Management Co.). Kevin Divney is the new lead manager, assisted now by Brian DeChristopher and Richard Weed. [8/05]
  
  Putnam Vista: Paul Marrkand leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Kevin Divney takes over the lead role, assisted by Brian DeChristopher. [8/05]
  
  RiverSource New Dimensions: Manager Gordon Fines will retire in January 2006 (this according to Morningstar). Michael Nance has been added as co-manager, and he will take over upon Fines' retirement. Trisha Schuster has been added as associate portfolio manager. [8/05]
  
  Vanguard International Growth: Lead manager Richard Foulkes (of subadvisor Schroder Investment Management North America) will retire on October 31, 2005. Virginie Maisonneuve and Matthew Dobbs, also of Schroder, will take over. [8/05]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2005:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Aggressive Growth: See Fidelity Aggressive Growth, below. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Balanced: Louis Salemy leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Lawrence Rakers takes over. Rakers will continue at Fidelity Balanced, where he has proven himself a considerably more capable manager than Salemy over essentially the same period. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Value Strategies: See Fidelity Value Strategies, below. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive Growth: Rajiv Kaul is removed as manager, and Steven Calhoun replaces him. Kaul has been reassigned as a biotech analyst and, we suspect, he also has begun to polish his resume. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity China Region: It's a changing of the Lees: Ignatius Lee is taking a three-month leave of absence, and K.C. Lee will run the fund in his absence. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Convertible Securities: Victor Thay steps down as manager (he's moving over to Fidelity Growth & Income II). Thomas Soviero takes over for Thay, and Soviero continues at Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock and Fidelity Advisor High Income Advantage. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Growth & Income II: Louis Salemy leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Victor Thay replaces him. [7/05]
  
  Fidelity Value Strategies: Harris Leviton steps down as manager (he continues to run Fidelity Value and Fidelity Advisor Value). Richard Fentin takes over for Leviton. [7/05]
  
  Jennison Utility: David Kiefer steps down as a member of this fund's management team, apparently in an attempt to reduce his workload. Lead manager Shaun Hong and team member Ubong Edemeka carry on. [7/05]
  
  Merrill Lynch EuroFund: Hubert Aaarts leaves as day-to-day manager. James Macmillan, who had been listed as a member of the fund's management team, is now in charge. [7/05]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2005:
  
  Columbia Young Investor: The management team of Paul Blaustein, Gregory Miller, and Michael Welhoelter is replaced by the team of Robert Unger and Emil Gjester. [6/05]
  
  Delaware Select Growth: Last month, we ran the following item on the Highlights and Commentary page:
  
  

  Delaware Investments, manager of the Delaware mutual funds, recently lifted out (i.e., stole away) four large-cap growth managers from Transamerica (Jeffrey Van Harte, Christopher Bonavico, Daniel Prislin and Kenneth Broad).....Delaware was so proud of its booty (no, not that kind of booty), the firm quickly gave the new team a couple of funds to manage (Delaware Diversified Growth and Delaware Select Growth), and amended each fund's prospectus to reflect the manager change.....But for some reason (incompetence? infighting? full moon?), Delaware reinstated the former management team after just four days, and amended the prospectuses again.

  
  Well, Delaware is trying again, and this time it looks like the change will stick. The former management team (Frey, Bassett, Heffern, Hynoski, Lampe, Todorow, and Wachs) is replaced by the four fresh faces from Delaware indicated above, plus one more: Patrick Fortier. [6/05]
  
  Dreyfus Emerging Leaders: Effective June 30, managers Paul Kandel and Hillary Woods leave the fund and leave the firm (we're guessing hedge fund). The "smallcap team" of Franklin Portfolio Associates, a Dreyfus affiliate, takes over. The fund also will shift its investment approach, from a substantial dose of fundamental analysis under Kandel/Woods to a purely quantitative, bottom-up approach under the new team, which will seek to identify undervalued securities (ah, don't we all). [6/05]
  
  Dreyfus Growth Opportunity: Effective June 30, Paul Kandel leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. David Cameron and Elizabeth Stover take over for Kandel. The new managers are employees of Boston Company Asset Management, an affiliate of Dreyfus. Barry Mills, who was co-manager with Kandel, remains with the fund. [6/05]
  
  Dreyfus Future Leaders: See Dreyfus Emerging Leaders, above. [6/05]
  
  Dreyfus New Leaders: See Dreyfus Emerging Leaders, above. [6/05]
  
  Franklin Global Health Care: Lead manager Derek Tanner leaves the fund, and leaves the firm. Co-managers Matthew Willey and Evan McCulloch continue, joined by Jeanna Wong. [6/05]
  
  Jennison Natural Resources: Leigh Goehring leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. David Kiefer takes over for Goehring, assisted by Michael Del Balso, who continues as co-manager. [6/05]
  
  Mutual Series funds (several): Manager David Winters, the best-known, remaining disciple of Michael Price -- and the guy who's recently been running the show at Mutual Series -- steps down from several funds and leaves the firm. Winters is starting his own money-management shop (Wintergreen Advisers), and his own mutual fund. The funds affected by Winters' departure are as follows:
  
  

  Name	Old management team	New management team
  Mutual Beacon	David Winters/Charles Lahr	Michael Embler/Charles Lahr
  Mutual Discovery	David Winters/David Segal	Anne Gudefin/David Segal
  Mutual European	David Winters/Philippe Brugere-Trelat	Philippe Brugere-Trelat/Charles Lahr
  Mutual Shares	David Winters/Deborah Turner	Peter Langerman/Deborah Turner/David Segal

  
  FundAlarm comments: This manager change is one of those relatively rare big-deal manager changes. From the outside, it's easy (and, we think, correct) to assume that Winters was the brains and experience behind these funds, and he drove their excellent performance. Without him, these funds are distinctly uninspiring -- ask yourself, "Would I buy these funds again, without Winters?," and the answer almost certainly will be "no." (One possible exception: Mutual Shares, which will be run by Peter Langerman, who was one of Price's hand-picked successors, then he left, and now he's back.) If you own the old, no-load Mutual Series "Z" shares, it may be time to finally give them up and move on. If you paid a load to get into these funds, it's time to put your financial advisor to work, and come up with some comparable alternatives within the Franklin Templeton family (but we warn you, the pickings are slim). Or, you may want to follow Winters out the door. His new mutual fund, the Wintergreen Fund, could be one of those few-in-a-decade opportunities to get in on the ground floor, with a top-notch manager, in a small fund. We might even give it a whirl ourselves. [6/05]
  
  Pin Oak Aggressive Stock: Douglas MacKay leaves as "Assistant Portfolio Manager," and leaves the firm. Jim Oelschlager had been shown as "lead manager" to MacKays's "assistant manager," but now Jim Oelschlager, son Mark Oelschlager, and Donna Barton are all shown as "co-managers." As with White Oak Select Growth, below, we're not sure if these subtle changes in title actually mean something, or are just an example of sloppy prospectus writing. [6/05]
  
  Putnam International Equity: Stephen Oler and George Stairs, two of this fund's three "Portfolio members" (that's an assistant portfolio manager, in Putnam-speak) are fired, and apparently will not be replaced. Mark Pollard continues as the sole portfolio member. [6/05]
  
  Putnam International Growth and Income: George Stairs is fired as sole "Portfolio member," and J. Frederick Cooper replaces him. [6/05]
  
  Quaker Mid Cap Value: Schneider Capital Management is gone as outside manager (i.e., subadvisor), and Global Capital Management takes over. [6/05]
  
  Red Oak Technology Select: Douglas MacKay leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Jeffrey Travis replaces MacKay. [6/05]
  
  T. Rowe Price Media & Telecommunications: Robert Gensler steps down as manager. P. Robert Bartolo and Henry Ellenbogen take over as co-managers. [6/05]
  
  Turner Core Growth: Christopher Perry leaves as co-manager. David Kovacs remains as lead manager, assisted by continuing co-managers Robert Turner and Mark Turner. There are no plans to replace Perry. [6/05]
  
  Turner Large Cap Growth: Christopher Perry leaves as co-manager. Robert Turner remains as lead manager, assisted by continuing co-managers Mark Turner and Robb Parlanti. [6/05]
  
  Turner Strategic Growth: See Turner Large Cap Growth, above. [6/05]
  
  White Oak Select Growth: Douglas MacKay leaves as "Assistant Portfolio Manager," and leaves the firm. Jim Oelschlager had been shown as "lead manager" to MacKays's "assistant manager," but now Oelschlager, Donna Barton, and Robert Stimpson are all shown as "co-managers." We're not sure if these subtle changes in title actually mean something, or are just an example of sloppy prospectus writing. [6/05]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2005:
  
  Delaware American Services: Gerald Frey will retire from Delaware in September, and he's no longer listed as a member of this fund's management team, which is now down to three (Lori Wachs, Marshall Bassett, Steven Lampe). [5/05]
  
  Delaware Select Growth: Gerald Frey will retire from Delaware in September, and step down as lead manager of this fund's (now) six-person management team. Marshall Bassett, a current member of the team, will take the reins from Frey. [5/05]
  
  Delaware Small Cap Growth: See Delaware Growth Opportunities, above. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Select Financial Services, below. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Large Cap Stock: Karen Firestone steps down as manager, and leaves the firm. Timothy Cohen takes over. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Latin America: See Fidelity Latin America, below. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Destiny I: Karen Firestone steps down as manager, and leaves the firm to pursue an "entrepreneurial financial advisory opportunity" serving high-net-worth clients. Perhaps Firestone also got tired taking so many showers to wash off the slime that came from running this garbage contractual fund, which firms like First Command sold to thousands of unsuspecting U.S. military personnel. Timothy Cohen takes over. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Large Cap Stock: Karen Firestone steps down as manager, and leaves the firm to pursue an "entrepreneurial financial advisory opportunity" serving high-net-worth clients. Matthew Fruhan takes over. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Latin America: Claudio Brocado is out as manager. Brent Bottamini and Adam Kutas take over. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: Matthew Fruhan steps down as manager, to take over Fidelity Large Cap Stock. Charles Hebard replaces Fruhan. [5/05]
  
  Fidelity Small Cap Growth: Forrest St. Clair leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. A team of three takes over (James Harmon, Lionel Harris, and Charles Myers). [5/05]
  
  Hancock Health Sciences: Long-time manager Linda Miller is out, and Robert Junkin takes over. [5/05]
  
  Hancock Techonolgy: American Fund Advisors is fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and John Hancock Advisors takes over (oh, look, we get to keep more of the management fee!) Anurag Pandit, a Hancock employee with a decent two-year technology track record, has day-to-day management responsibility. [5/05]
  
  Hartford Advisers: Lead manager Rand Alexander is retiring at the end of September, unless a replacement is named beforehand. Alexander works for this fund's subadvisor, Wellington Management, so presumably his replacement will come from Wellington's ranks. Equity co-manager Maya Bittar remains, assisted by money-market manager John Keogh. [5/05; thanks to FundAlarm reader Stephen Rimmer, of Edward Jones & Co. in Oklahoma City, OK, for first bringing these Hartford changes to our attention ]
  
  Hartford Focus: Lead manager Rand Alexander is retiring at the end of September, unless a replacement is named beforehand. Alexander works for this fund's subadvisor, Wellington Management, so presumably his replacement will come from Wellington's ranks. Equity co-manager Maya Bittar remains. [5/05]
  
  Hartford Stock: See Hartford Focus, above. [5/05]
  
  Janus Balanced: Karen Reidy steps down as manager. Mark Pinto (equities) and Gibson Smith (fixed income) replace her. FundAlarm comments: Now that she has bailed out as manager, Reidy is reportedly "exploring an opportunity to work in a strategic capacity for Janus Chief Executive Steven Scheid," which is one of the more bizarre explanations for a manager departure we can recall. Before most people quit one job, they've finished the "exploring" stage and know they have a new job lined up. It sounds to us like Reidy just wanted out. If she can structure a new job to her liking, great, but if not, it's adios to Janus. Ah, to be a fund manager. [5/05]
  
  Janus Core Equity: Karen Reidy leaves as manager, and Minyoung Son takes over. [5/05]
  
  MFS Technology: Daniel Scherman is out as lead manager, and Telis Bertskeas takes over. [5/05; change effective March 2005]
  
  MFS Value: Edward Baldini leaves the two-person mangement team, and Steven Gorham will now run things solo. [5/05; change effective March 2005]
  
  TA IDEX Transamerica funds (several): Delaware Investments, manager of the Delaware mutual funds, lifts-out four large-cap growth managers from Transamerica (or, if you prefer, four managers bail out of Transamerica). The departing managers are Jeffrey Van Harte, Christopher Bonavico, Daniel Prislin and Kenneth Broad. The lift-out was effective March 31, 2005. As of April 28, IDEX still hadn't officially announced the changes, let alone indicated who would be taking over for the departing managers. However, since the three IDEX funds affected by this lift-out are quite similar to three Transamerica Premier funds (below), we'll assume that the same new management teams will handle the IDEX funds, as follows:
  
  

  TA IDEX Transamerica fund	Old management team (departures in red)	New management team (assumed, based on changes at similar Transamerica funds, below)
  Balanced	Gary Rollé Heidi Hu Jeffrey Van Harte	Gary Rollé Heidi Hu
  Equity	Jeffrey Van Harte Gary Rollé	Gary Rollé
  Growth Opportunities	Christopher Bonavico Kenneth Broad	Edward Han Kirk Kim
  [5/05]

  
  Transamerica funds (several): Delaware Investments, manager of the Delaware mutual funds, lifts-out (i.e., steals away) four large-cap growth managers from Transamerica). The departing managers are Jeffrey Van Harte, Christopher Bonavico, Daniel Prislin and Kenneth Broad. The Transamerica funds affected by these manager departures, and the new manager lineups, are as follows:
  
  

  Transamerica fund	Old management team (departures in red)	New management team
  Premier Balanced	Gary Rollé (lead equity manager) Heidi Hu (lead fixed income manager) Jeffrey Van Harte (portfolio manager)	Gary Rollé (lead equity manager) Heidi Hu (lead fixed income manager)
  Premier Core Equity	Daniel Prislin (co-portfolio manager) Gary Rollé (co-portfolio manager) Jeffrey Van Harte (portfolio manager)	Gary Rollé (portfolio manager)
  Premier Equity	Jeffrey Van Harte (lead portfolio manager) Gary Rollé (portfolio manager) Daniel Prislin (portfolio manager)	Gary Rollé (portfolio manager)
  Premier Focus	Christopher Bonavico (co-portfolio manager) Kenneth Broad (co-portfolio manager) Daniel Prislin (co-portfolio manager)	Gary Rollé (portfolio manager) Edward Han (co-manager) Kirk Kim (co-manager)
  Premier Growth Opportunities	Christopher Bonavico (co-portfolio manager) Kenneth Broad (co-portfolio manager)	Edward Han (co-manager) Kirk Kim (co-manager
  [5/05]

  
  
• Originally posted April 2005:
  
  AIM Opportunities (I,II,II): OK, now this is getting good.
  
  In September 2004, we reported that the funds' entire management tram (Scavone/deMuth/Leslie) would step down, in favor of a new team (Roger Mortimer and Glen Hilton).
  
  In January 2005, we reported that AIM changed its plans, and Leslie would be staying on, joined by Mortimer and Hilton as co-portfolio managers. We also reported that the funds had changed their investment style, from growth to value, and they had adopted hedge fund techniques, such as short sales, leverage, and derivatives.
  
  This month, we report that Roger Mortimer has left the funds, and the firm, and the funds are now managed by Leslie and Hilton. But not for long. Come May 23, Hilton will go, Leslie will stay as an assistant manager (joined by Eric Thaller), and Derek Izuel will take over as lead manager. Oh, and the funds' investment style will change again, to "core," which is the only thing left.
  
  OK class, now it's time for a quiz. First question: When a fund company is so screwed up, it can't even decide who is going to manage one of its offerings, or what investment style that fund will follow, write a two-page essay discussing why you would be nuts to continue owning that fund. [4/05]
  
  American Century Global Growth: Henrik Strabo leaves as lead manager of a three-person team, and leaves the firm. Remaining managers Matt Hudson and Trevor Gurwich will run the show by themselves, at least for a while. [4/05]
  
  American Century International Growth: Henrik Strabo leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Strabo is replaced by Michael Perelstein. [4/05]
  
  American Century International Opportunities: Henrik Strabo leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. It looks like Strabo's former co-manager, Lynette Schroeder, is also off this fund, which is now managed solo by Federico Laffan. [4/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Health Care: See Fidelity Select Health Care, below. [4/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Health Care: Samuel Peters heads out the revolving door (he made is just past one year!), and Harlan Carrere takes over. [4/05]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Equipment and Systems: Samuel Peters moves on out, and Aaron Cooper takes up temporary residence. Cooper's experience on this fund should help him with his other charge, Fidelity Select Leisure, since so many people now are using their defibrillators for recreational purposes. [4/05]
  
  Guardian Park Avenue: Richard Goldman resigns as manager, and this was almost certainly one of those "do you want to quit, or should we fire you?" situations. Tim Sorell and Matthew Ziehl take over as interim managers, and Guardian has hired a "prominent executive search firm" to find a "new manager with a well-established record." Sounds so easy, doesn't it? [4/05]
  
  MFS Massachusetts Investors Trust: Long-time manager John Laupheimer -- with a long-time mediocre track record at this fund -- will retire as of May 31, 2005. Nicole Zatlyn will replace Laupheimer (as of May 1). Zatlyn joins co-manager T. Kevin Beatty, who's been at this fund for only about a year. FundAlarm comments: This is a huge fund (about $5.9 billion in assets) with no apparent reason for existing: It consistently hugs its benchmark, though a bit on the downside, and it's as likely to have a breakout year on the upside as Paris Hilton is to intern at The Wall Street Journal. Now that two relatively inexperienced managers are in charge, maybe this fund is trying to whisper something in your ear: "Sell me.....sell me.....sell me....." [4/05]
  
  PIMCO PEA Opportunity: Jamie Michaelson is no longer listed as a member of this fund's two-person management team. Jeff Parker has replaced Michaelson, joining co-manager Michael Corelli. [4/05]
  
  Putnam Discovery Growth: David Santos is fired as "portfolio member" (i.e., assistant manager) and the rest of the team disappears, too (Roland Gillis and and Daniel Miller). An entirely new crew is now onboard: Richard Weed as the top guy, Robert Ginsburg and Raymond Haddad as his assistants. [4/05]
  
  Putnam Growth Opportunities: Brian O'Toole is fired as "portfolio leader" (i.e., lead manager), and David Santos ("portfolio member") heads out the door with him. Kelly Morgan and Robert Ginsburg take over as co-portfolio leaders, with Saba Malak as the new portfolio member. [4/05]
  
  Putnam High Yield: Stephen Peacher is out as "portfolio leader." Peacher's former "portfolio member" Paul Scanlon moves into the top position. [4/05]
  
  Putnam Voyager: See Putnam Growth Opportunities, above. [4/05]
  
  TA IDEX American Century International: Lead manager Henrik Strabo resigns from the fund and also leaves American Century, this fund's outside manager (subadvisor). No replacement for Strabo has been named, and as far as we can tell the former team hasn't been shaken up, so we'll assume all three former co-managers are still here (Makr Kopinski, Keith Creveling and Michael Perelstein). [4/05]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2005:
  
  Dreyfus Health Care: Matthew Jenkin leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Elizabeth Slover is now in charge. [3/05]
  
  Fidelity Structured Large Cap: Ciaran O'Neill is out as manager, and Bruce Dirks is in. [3/05]
  
  Fidelity Structured Mid Cap: See Fidelity Structured Large Cap, above. [3/05]
  
  ING Emerging Countries: ING essentially fires itself as manager, and hires Brandes Investment Partners as subadvisor (outside manager). [3/05]
  
  ING International SmallCap Growth: Current subadvisor Nicholas-Applegate is fired, and Acadian Asset Management takes over. The fund is also renamed, to get the "growth" out (it's now ING International SmallCap). [3/05]
  
  ING Russia: A four-person management team is now a three-person management team, thanks to the departure of co-manager Frits Moolhuizen. [3/05]
  
  ING Worldwide Growth: ING replaces itself with a subadvisor, NWQ Investment Management. The fund is also renamed, to ING Global Value Choice. [3/05]
  
  MFS Total Return: Long-time lead manager Davud Calabro retires, and Brooks Taylor replaces him. [3/05]
  
  RiverSource Large Cap Equity: Doug Chase leaves as manager, and he's replaced by the team of Robert Ewing and Nick Thakore. FundAlarm comments: Chase, Ewing and Thakore are three former Fidelity managers who made a mass defection to American Express in February 2002. Last September, Chase took a 90-day leave of absence from this fund, which was then extended to the permanent leave we're reporting here. This seems like an issue unique to Chase. But there's always the possibility that the AmEx marriage just didn't work out, and Ewing and Thakore may not be far behind. [3/05; change effective December 20, 2004]
  
  Wasatch Core Growth: Sam Stewart departs as lead manager (he's moving up, or down if you prefer, to Chief Investment Officer). Stewart's former team members, Paul Lambert and J.B. Taylor, will continue to run this fund. [3/05]
  
  Wasatch Micro Cap Value: Robert Gardiner steps down as lead manager (he's the firm's new Director of research, though he will continue at the reins of Wasatch Micro Cap). Gardiner's former team members, Brian Bythrow and John Malooly, remain in charge. [3/05]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2005:
  
  Excelsior Blended Equity: Leigh Weiss and Bruce Tavel leave this fund's three-person management team. Nischal Pai remains as co-manager, and he is now assisted by Richard Bayles. [2/05]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Korea: Agus Tandiono leaves as manager, and Michael Gordon replaces him. [2/05; change effective December 1, 2004]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Technology: Sonu Kalra leaves as manager, to take over the reins at Fidelity OTC. Kalra is replaced by Yun-Min Chai. [2/05]
  
  Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock: Beso Sikharulidze leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Shep Perkins (formerly of Fidelity OTC) takes over. Steven Calhoun joins Perkins as associate manager. [2/05]
  
  Fidelity OTC: Shep Perkins leaves as manager (he's headed for Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock). Sonu Kalra, previously the placeholder at Fidelity Select Technology and Advisor Technology, replaces Perkins. [2/05]
  
  Fidelity Select funds (several): It's been a while since Fido's dememted personnel manager decided to shuffle the deck at the Select funds, and he/she has made up for lost time with a major round of changes. Here they are:
  
  

  Fidelity fund	Old manager	New manager
  Select Air Transportation	Harlan Carrere	Andrew Hatem
  Select Computers	Sonu Kalra	Naved Khan
  Select Medical Delivery	Jonathan Zang	Matthew Sabel
  Select Natural Gas	Naved Khan	Jonathan Zang
  Select Pharmaceuticals	Ian Gutterman*	Harlan Carrere
  Select Retailing	Adam Segel (leaving Fidelity)	Martin Zinny
  Select Technology	Sonu Kalra	James Morrow
  Select Transportation	Harlan Carrere	Jill Jortner
  * Alert the Guinness Book of Records: Gutterman's tenure was effective for 12 days (January 1 through January 12). On January 1, in case anybody cares about this ridiculous charade, Gutterman had succeeded Gavin Baker. Needless to say, Gutterman is also leaving Fidelity.
  [2/05]

  
  
• Originally posted January 2005:
  
  Cohen & Steers Realty Income: Greg Brooks leaves as co-manager. Brooks is replaced by Joseph Harvey, who joins continuing managers Martin Cohen and Robert Steers. (Thanks to a FundAlarm reader for alerting us to this change, which took place in August 2004). [1/05]
  
  Dupree muni bond funds (all): Manager William Griggs III (52) has died, and Thomas Dupree (73) comes out of retirement to take over (he hasn't been a portfolio manager since 1989). [1/05]
  
  First American International: Day-to-day manager (subadvisor) Clay Finlay, Inc. is gone, and J.P. Morgan Investment Management takes over, led by the team of James Fisher and Howard Williams. [1/05]
  
  Loomis Sayles Aggressive Growth: This is still in the "reliable rumor" stage, which a Loomis Sayles PR person has failed to either confirm or deny, but we'll go with it anyway: The entire management team of Chris Ely, David Smith, and Phil Fine is gone, or will be soon. [1/05]
  
  Loomis Sayles Small Cap Growth: See Loomis Sayles Aggressive Growth, above. [1/05]
  
  Oakmark International Small Cap: Michael Welsh steps aside as co-manager, and Chad Clark takes over. David Herro remains in charge, and Welsh will continue as co-manager at his other Oakmark funds (International and Global). [1/05]
  
  Oppenheimer Quest Value: Oppenheimer Capital is fired as subadvisor (day-to-day manager), and Christopher Leavy, of OppenheimerFunds, takes over. Surprising as it seems, Oppenheimer Capital isn't related to OppenheimerFunds, so this is simply a case of a subadvised fund being brought in-house. [1/05]
  
  Putnam Classic Equity: Deborah Kuenstner steps down as "portfolio leader," and leaves the firm. (Last month, we reported on the departure of "portfolio member" Coleman Lannum, so now it's a clean sweep). Michael Abata and Ronald Bukovac will now run this fund as co-portfolio leaders. FundAlarm comments: During Kuenstner's three-year-plus tenure, this fund has been a consistently dismal performer, and Putnam is currently on a campaign to boost overall fund performance. Kuenstner also was managing director and CIO of Putnam's large-cap value and international teams, until she was effectively demoted in November. Kuenstner is officially leaving for "personal reasons." Uh huh. Sure. [1/05]
  
  Seligman Common Stock: Richard Schmaltz is out as manager, and John Cunningham (formerly of Salomon Brothers Asset Management) replaces him. (This change was effective September 13, 2004; on January 1, 2005, Cunningham is joined as manager by Michael McGarry.) [1/05]
  
  Seligman Income and Growth: Richard Schmaltz is removed as the manager of the equity portion of this fund, and John Cunningham replaces him. Christiopher Mahoney continues in charge on the fixed income side. (This change was effective September 13, 2004.) [1/05]
  
  Van Kampen Enterprise: All three managers are gone (Stephen Boyd retires, and Mary Jayne Maly and Thomas Copper remain with the firm, but in other capacities). The new team makes for a crowded office: Sandip Bhagat, Feng Chang, Leah Modigiliani, Hooman Yaghoobi, and Kevin Jung. [1/05; thanks to FundAlarm reader Jim Greenwood, of Greenwood Financial, for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2004:
  
  FBR Small Cap Technology: Winsor Aylesworth is removed as manager, and Robert Barringer takes over. Aylesworth continues to manage FBR Large Cap Technology and FBR American Gas Index (renamed FBR Gas Utility Index). [12/04; change effective September 9, 2004]
  
  Oppenheimer Developing Markets: Long-time manager Rajeev Bhaman steps down, effective December 1, 2004. Bhaman will continue to co-manage Oppenheimer Global. Short-time co-manager Mark Madden (since August 2004) now runs the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Bhaman compiled an excellent record at this fund. Madden used to run a similar fund for Pioneer (Pioneer Emerging Markets), and Bhaman trounced Madden for the seven years that they were simultaneously in charge of their respective funds. Please draw your own conclusion as to whether the Madden-for-Bhaman switch is a positive change for shareholders of this fund. [12/04]
  
  Putnam Classic Equity: "Portfolio member" Coleman Lannum, III is replaced by Ronald Bukovac. Deborah Kuenstner remains as "portfolio leader." [12/04]
  
  Putnam Growth Opportunities: "Portfolio member" Walton Pearson is gone, and David Santos will continue, now as the sole "portfolio member." Brian O'Toole remains as "portfolio leader." [12/04]
  
  Putnam Voyager: See Putnam Growth Opportunities, above. [12/04]
  
  SunAmerica Value: American Century is fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and an in-house team takes over, headed by Steven Neimeth. FundAlarm comments: Oh, you know. You fire the manager of your best-performing diversified equity fund, and then you hire an in-house team so you can keep a few more pennies of the management fee. Performance? Well, whatever. It happens all the time. [12/04; change effective August 23, 2004]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2004:
  
  Alger Balanced: Alison Barbi leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. She's replaced by Steven Thumm, who joins continuing comanager Kevin Collins.[11/04]
  
  Alger Capital Appreciation: David Hyun is fired as manager. The team of Teresa McRoberts and Patrick Kelly takes over for him. [11/04]
  
  Alger Large Cap Growth: David Hyun is fired as comanager. Dan Chung will now run this fund solo. [11/04]
  
  Enterprise Equity: TCW Investment Management is the outside manager (subadvisor) for this fund. Glen Bickerstaff currently runs TCW's portion of this portfolio, but Bickerstaff will be stepping aside as of January 1, 2005. Enterprise hasn't officially announced Bickerstaff's replacement, but it will almost certainly be Craig Blum and Stephen Burlingame, who are also replacing Bickerstaff on TCW's in-house fund (below). [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology: See Fidelity Select Biotechnology, below. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Diversified International: William Bower is out as manager, and Penelope Dobkin is in, although Bower will continue to manage the non-advisor version of this fund. We have no idea why Fidelity would split the management of these similar funds in this fashion. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Inflation-Protected Bond: See Fidelity Ginnie Mae, below. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Real Estate: Steven Buller is out as manager, and Samuel Wald is in. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Ginnie Mae: Thomas Silvia leaves as manager, and William Irving takes over. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Inflation-Protected Bond: See Fidelity Ginnie Mae, above. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity International Discovery: Penelope Dobkin is out as manager (she's headed for Fidelity Advisor Diversified International). Taking over for Dobkin is William Kennedy. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Investment Grade Bond: Long-time manager Kevin Grant retires, at age 44, and Jeffrey Moore replaces him (effective December 1, 2004). [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Pacific Basin: William Kennedy heads for Fidelity International Discovery, which means that somebody has to run this fund. That job now falls to Dale Nicholls. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Biotechnology: Andraz Razen lasts as manager for over two years; at the Fidelity Select funds, this is referred to as a "lifetime job." Now, Razen is gone, and Harlan Carrere is in charge. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Business Services and Outsourcing: Dion Hershan is out as manager, and Nicola Stafford takes over. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Spartan Investment Grade Bond: See Fidelity Investment Grade Bond, above. [11/04]
  
  Fidelity Total Bond: Long-time manager Kevin Grant retires. Grant is replaced by Ford O'Neil, effective December 1, 2004. [11/04]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: Glen Bickerstaff (of TCW Investment Management) is one of seven "master" managers of this fund. As of January 1, 2005, Bickerstaff will no longer be involved in day-to-day stock picking for TCW. There has been no word whether TCW will be replaced, or whether the two TCW employees taking over Bickerstaff's other managerial responsibilities will also be allowed to take over here. [11/04]
  
  Northern Large Cap Value: Alan Britton leaves this fund's three-person management team. Stephen Atkins replaces Britton, and Stephen Kent and Betsy Turner continue. [11/04]
  
  Spectra: See Alger Capital Appreciation, above. [11/04]
  
  TCW Galileo Select Equities: Star manager Glen Bickerstaff will give up day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities, effective January 1, 2005. Bickerstaff will move up to the role of "Senior Portfolio Advisor to the Concentrated Core and Select Equities strategies," a title which may or may not fit on his business card. Current comanagers Craig Blum and Stephen Burlingame will take over for Bickerstaff. FundAlarm comments: Bickerstaff's "clients and friends" letter, announcing this change, begins: " Consistent with my personal career plans...." Yes, Glen, we're all interested in your "personal career plans," but shouldn't your clients' money be uppermost in your mind? Blum and Burlingame have apparently worked with Bickerstaff for some time on private accounts, although they've been comanagers of this fund for less than a year. Bickerstaff likes these guys a lot, but they lack a public track record, and that should give investors pause. This fund certainly isn't a sell, but Blum and Burlingame will have to prove themselves. For 2005, we'd keep them under close watch. [11/04]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2004:
  
  AIM Small Cap Equity: The management team of Paul Rasplicka and Michael Chapman is replaced by Juliet Ellis (lead) and Juan Hartsfield. Ellis and Hartsfield come from the JP Morgan funds, where they managed Dynamic Small Cap and Small Cap Equity. [10/04]
  
  American Century New Opportunities: John Seitzer leaves the fund, and leaves the firm. Tom Telford replaces him. [10/04]
  
  American Century New Opportunities II: See American Century New Opportunities, above. [10/04]
  
  Heartland Select Value: Eric Miller steps down as a member of this fund's four-person management team. Hugh Denison, David Fondrie, and Theodore Baszler continue as managers. As we pointed out in April 2004, when this fund had its previous manager change, Hugh Denison was a member of Heartland's board of directors when the firm's high-yield muni-bond funds suffered huge write-downs back in October 2000. [10/04]
  
  JP Morgan Dynamic Small Cap: As of September 1, the entire management team of this fund is gone (Juliet Ellis and Juan Hartsfield left for AIM Small Cap Equity, above). As of September 25, JP Morgan still hadn't updated its Web site for this change, or (more importantly) updated the fund's prospectus. Totally inexcusable, and sadly routine. Needless to say, thanks to JP Morgan's negligence and/or sloppiness, we also can't tell you who the new managers are. [10/04]
  
  JP Morgan Small Cap Equity: See JP Morgan Dynamic Small Cap, above. [10/04]
  
  Managers International Equity: Mastholm Asset Management is fired as one of this fund's three outside managers (subadvisors), and the ever-ready Wellington Management Company takes over. Lazard and Bernstein continue as the fund's other two outside managers. [10/04]
  
  Managers Special Equity: Bill Dutton, of Skyline Asset Management, heads a team that runs about 20% of this portflio. At the end of the year, Dutton will give up his day-to-day management responsibilities, and Mike Maloney will take over for Dutton. [10/04; thanks to FundAlarm reader Derek Pszenny, of Carolina Wealth Mangement, Inc., for first bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Putnam Discovery Growth: Roland Gillis retires as portfolio leader. Gillis is replaced by Richard Weed. [10/04]
  
  Putnam New Opportunities: Daniel Miller retires as portfolio leader. Kevin Divney and Paul Marrkand take over. [10/04]
  
  Putnam OTC & Emerging Growth: See Putnam Discovery Growth, above. [10/04]
  
  Sentinel Balanced: Van Harrisis leaves as manager of this fund's equity portfolio, and leaves the firm. Daniel Manion takes over for Harrisis, and David Brownlee continues on the bond side. [10/04]
  
  Sentinel Common Stock: Van Harrisis leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Daniel Manion takes over. [10/04]
  
  Sentinel Core Mid Cap: Scott Brayman leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Brayman is replaced by Charles Schwartz. [10/04]
  
  Sentinel Small Company: See Sentinel Core Mid Cap, above. [10/04]
  
  Skyline Special Equities: As of year-end, long-time lead manager Bill Dutton will give up day-to-day responsibilities for this fund. Mike Maloney will be in charge. [10/04; thanks to FundAlarm reader Derek Pszenny, of Carolina Wealth Mangement, Inc., for first bringing this item to our attention]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2004:
  
  Alliance Bernstein Disciplined Value: Comanager Paul Rissman steps down, and the other comanager (Frank Caruso) will now handle the day-to-day responsibilities at this fund, assisted by Alliance Bernstein's "Relative Value Team." As with AllianceBernstein Balanced, above, Rissman is apparently still a member of the Relative Value Team, so the impact of this change may be minimal. [9/04]
  
  Alliance Bernstein Growth and Income: See Alliance Bernstein Disciplined Value, above. [9/04]
  
  Alliance Bernstein Real Estate Investment: Daniel Pine and David Kruth are removed as managers. The firm's REIT Investment Policy Group is now in charge and, according the prospectus, "no one person is principally responsible for making recommendations for the Fund's portfolio." Now, tell us something we can believe. [9/04]
  
  Alliance Bernstein Utility Income: Paul Rissman steps down as comanager, and Annie Tsao (the other comanager) takes over, assisted by Robert Ashton. [9/04]
  
  Loomis Sayles Worldwide: As with Loomis Sayles International, above, Muromcew left as comanager, and Loomis soon announced it was getting out of the international equity business altogether. Loomis says that this fund will "continue to be managed at Loomis by Loomis portfolio managers," which is curious, since the entire international equity team has been fired. Loomis has promised "updates" as more information becomes available, which sounds like an excellent idea, especially if you have money in this fund. [9/04]
  
  n/i Numeric Emerging Growth: According to Morningstar, comanager Shannon Vanderhooft will leave this fund at the end of the year to "spend more time with her children." (Memo to Numeric: It might be nice to notify your shareholders of impending manager changes, or at least the SEC, before you tell Morningstar.) Dan Taylor will take over for Vanderhooft. [9/04]
  
  n/i Numeric Growth: Same as n/i Numeric Emerging Growth, above. [9/04]
  
  Salomon Brothers Investors: John Cunningham leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm (he's headed for J.& W. Seligman). Cunningham's other comanager, Mark McAllister, takes over the lead spot, assisted by Robert Feitler. [9/04]
  
  Smith Barney Large Cap Value: John Cunningham leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (he's headed for J.& W. Seligman). Mark McAllister takes over, assisted by Robert Feitler. [9/04]
  
  TA IDEX Salomon Investors Value: John Cunnigham leaves subadvisor Salomon Brothers, and steps down as co-manager (Cunnigham is headed for Seligman). Mark McAllister of Salomon Brothers remains, assisted by Robert Feitler. [9/04]
  
  Van Kampen Equity Growth: William Auslander and Jeffrey Alvino are removed as managers. They are replaced by the team of Dennis Lynch, David Cohen and Sam Chainani. [9/04]
  
  Wasatch Global Science & Technology: A reader has alerted us to a manager change, which appears to have occurred late last year, or early this year. According to this fund's annual report, dated September 30, 2003, this fund had two comanagers, Karey Barker and Ajay Krishnan. A new prospectus, dated January 31, 2004, lists only Krishnan, and Krishnan is again listed as solo manager in the March 31, 2004 semi-annual report. We love donning our Sherlock Holmes outfit, but Wasatch should deprive us of that pleasure, and make it easier to uncover changes like this. Hey, we have an idea: How about an announcement on their Web site? Maybe even in that section they have labeled "News." [9/04; thanks to "David S" for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2004:
  
  RiverSource New Dimensions: Manager Gordon Fines takes a medical leave of absence, which is expected to last for about 90 days. William Truscott, chief investment officer of American Express Financial Corp., is Fines' interim replacement, assisted by two members of AEFC's "Growth Spectrum" team. [8/04]
  
  Calvert Social Investment Balanced: It's a blue day at Brown Capital Management, as that firm is fired as one of this fund's three outside stock managers (i.e., subadvisors). Brown is replaced by New Amsterdam Partners LLC, under the day-to-day leadership of Michelle Clayman and Nathaniel Paull. FundAlarm comments: Will wonders never cease? The official explanation for this manager change, as filed with the SEC, actually contains some useful information:
  
  

  "At a meeting of the Board of Directors held on June 8, 2004...the Board terminated Brown as a subadvisor to the Fund effective June 30, 2004...Calvert's equity oversight management team is seeking an improved manager mix for the equity portion of the Fund. The goal is to maximize portfolio returns at a reduced level of risk, measured by tracking error, by using a better blend of large cap core equity investment managers. After extensive analysis, the Advisor determined that the existing portfolio contained a growth bias that induced risk for which the Fund's shareholders were not receiving commensurate reward. It determined that State SSgA FM and its successful enhanced index strategy should be retained as a stable core component for the Fund. Brown's growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) process was the primary source of the growth bias in the Fund so the focus of the search was to find a more core-oriented manager that was not excessively correlated to SSgA FM. After careful consideration by the Advisor of the many candidates, the Advisor recommended, and the Board selected, New Amsterdam Partners LLC ("New Amsterdam") to join SSgA FM and Profit in managing the equity portion of the Fund."

  
  Brown had been a subadvisor since September 1996, so you might wonder where its "growth bias" had been hiding all that time. But kudos to Calvert for at least attempting to provide an explanation for a manager change. [8/04]
  
  Citizens Core Growth: Sophia Collier steps aside as manager, and new hire Jonathan White takes over. [8/04]
  
  Columbia Small Cap Growth: Long-time manager Richard Johnson leaves the fund and leaves the firm, after compiling a good long-term record. Johnson is a principal of a new money-management firm in Portland, Oregon, called Tyee Capital. According to oregonlive.com, "tyee" is a northwest Native American word for the chief of a tribe or band, and the Chinook refer to a large spring salmon as a "tyee". An executive of Tyee Capital says that it will try to find and invest in companies that represent that term -- the leaders, or tyees, of their industry, but presumably without the fishy smell. Back at "Columbia," which is the Native American word for "market-timing slut," Johnson is replaced by the team of Kenneth Korngiebel and Trent Nevills. [8/04; thanks to "Shawn in Seattle," a FundAlarm reader and financial supporter, for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Fidelity Select Networking and Infrastructure: Matthew Cheyney passes through the revolving door, and Charlie Chai takes over as manager. [8/04]
  
  First American Small Cap Growth Opportunities: This change occurred back in March, but we inadvertently overlooked it: Managers Joe Frohna and Brian Bies both left this fund, and also left First American. They have started their own Milwaukee-based company, Cortina Asset Management, along with a couple of other guys from the First American shop (see immediately below). The fund's new managers are Sean McLeod and Robert McDougall. [8/04]
  
  First American Small Cap Select: The story here is similar to that at First American Small Cap Growth Opportunities (above), only different: Managers John Potter and Tom Eck both left this fund, and also left First American. They are now associated with their own new firm, Cortina Asset Management, in Milwaukee. Allen Steinkopf and Andrew Adams have taken over management of this fund. [8/04]
  
  Janus Worldwide: Laurence Chang is fired as manager, and leaves the firm. Jason Yee takes over, asisted by Doug Kirkpatrick and a team of six analysts, all of whom worked under Chang. Gregory Kolb, a former analyst, has also been bumped up to assistant manager. FundAlarm comments: The new corporate management at Janus has said that performance, performance, performance will propel the firm's recovery (did we mention performance?), so we suspect that Laurence Chang began updating his resume several months ago, and the recent axe shouldn't have surprised him. Jason Yee has a relatively brief, but outstanding, record as manager of Janus Global Opportunities, so you might want to give him a chance if you own this fund and have already stuck it out for several years. The entire asset base of Global Opportunities would almost be a rounding adjustment for Worldwide, so the big question mark about Yee has to be whether he's able to handle this much larger fund. [8/04]
  
  Pioneer Emerging Markets: Ten-year manager Mark Madden leaves the fund, and leaves the firm. He'll start at Oppenheimer on August 16, where he will comanage Oppenheimer Developing Markets with Rajeev Bhaman. Taking over for Madden is Christopher Smart, Ph.D. (who can legitimately lay claim to being a Smart Ph.D.), and Sam Polyak. [8/04]
  
  Pioneer International Equity: Stefano Pregnolato leaves as manager, and Christopher Smart replaces him. [8/04]
  
  Pioneer International Value: See Pioneer International Equity, above. [8/04]
  
  Principal Partners Equity Growth: William Auslander and Jeffrey Alvino, who are employees of subadvisor Morgan Stanley Investment Management, are removed as day-to-day managers. The fund is now run by a troika of Morgan Stanley employees (Dennis Lynch, David Cohen, and Sam Chainani). [8/04]
  
  Principal Partners International : Phyllis Vance leaves as half of this fund's two-person management team, and Juliet Cohn replaces her. [8/04]
  
  Salomon Brothers Capital: Rob Donahue, who took over in May from hedge-fund-bound manager Ross Margolies, is now leaving to join a hedge fund himself. Kevin Caliendo takes over from Donahue, at least until Caliendo gets his hedge-fund offer. [8/04]
  
  USAA Growth: One of this fund's subadvisors, Dresdner RCM Global Investors, is fired, and a new subadvisor (Loomis, Sayles) is hired. Marsico Capital Management continues as the other subadvisor. [8/04]
  
  USAA Value: This fund's sole subadvisor, Westwood Management, is fired, and a new subadvisor (Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney, and Strauss) is hired. [8/04]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2004:
  
  Columbia Asset Allocation: Michael Kennedy leaves as this fund's "investment grade bond manager," one of ten [!] separate investment specialists who make up the fund's management team. When the time comes to arrange a manager meeting, is there also a Special Assistant in Charge of Corralling? [7/04]
  
  Columbia Income: Michael Kennedy leaves as a member of this three-person management team. Kevin Cronk and Thomas LaPointe continue looking for income, joined by Mark Newlin and Steven Luetger. [7/04]
  
  Columbia Intermediate Bond: Michael Kennedy leaves as comanager. His former colleage, Thomas LaPointe, will be joined by comanagers Mark Newlin and Steven Luetger. [7/04; thanks to "David S," of the FundAlarm Discussion Board, for bringing this and the other Columbia changes to our attention ]
  
  Columbia Liberty: Michael Kennedy leaves as this fund's "investment grade bond manager," and he also leaves the firm. Mark Newlin and Todd Mick take over. [7/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Consumer Industries: See Fidelity Select Consumer Industries, below. [7/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Industries: Joshua Spencer is out as manager, after only six months on the job. Maybe Spencer took the mandate of this fund too seriously, and spent all his time shopping on the company dime? But all kidding aside: This is a ridiculously short tenure, even by Fidelity Select standards, so we suspect that Spencer has left the firm. John Roth replaces Spencer, if anyone cares. [7/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Joshua Spencer is out as manager, and Aaron Cooper replaces him. Note Fidelity's attempt at ensuring a seamless transtion here: Both manager names end in "er." [7/04]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Technology: David Poiesz leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (he's headed for Oppenheimer Growth, below). Poiesz is replaced by a two-person team (Robert Zidar and Dominic Vignola). [7/04]
  
  Oppenheimer Growth: Alan Gilston is booted as manager to make way for David Poiesz, who's coming from Merrill Lynch Global Technology. FundAlarm comments: Speaking of not knowing what you're going to do next (see Pioneer Growth, below), Oppenheimer issued a new prospectus for this fund on October 23, 2003, showing Bruce Bartlett as manager. Bartlett was replaced on October 28, 2003 (i.e., five days later) by Alan Gilston, who's now been replaced by David Poiesz. Mr. Poiesz doesn't seem to be in imminent danger of departing but, hey, you never know. [7/04]
  
  Pioneer Growth: Eric Weigel leaves as manager, and Christopher Galizio takes over. FundAlarm comments: This change occurred several months ago, and we're just catching up with it. Weigel apparently gave up this assignment to concentrate on managing Pioneer Mid-Cap Growth, below, which Weigel has just quit. So much for planning ahead. [7/04]
  
  Pioneer Mid-Cap Growth: Eric Weigel leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (he's now at The Winslow Group, in Hoboken, New Jersey). Weigel is replaced by Andrew Acheson, assisted by Christopher Galizio. [7/04]
  
  Putnam Small Cap Growth: Anthony Sellitto leaves as lead manager, and also says goodbye to Putnam (or, perhaps, vice versa -- a departure for "personal reasons," like this one, potentially covers a multitude of sins). Richard Weed has sprouted as this fund's new lead manager ("portfolio leader," in Putnam-speak), and Anthony Sutton has replaced Weed as a "portfolio member." [7/04]
  
  Putnam Tax-Exempt funds (all): Richard Wyke leaves as a member of this five-person team. A replacement for Wyke hasn't been announced, so these funds are now run by a four-person team, under continuing lead manager David Hamlin. [7/04]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2004:
  
  AIM Mid Cap Basic Value: Comanager Timothy Beyer resigns from this five-person team, and leaves the firm. It's now a four-person team, still under the leadership of Bret Stanley. [6/04]
  
  AIM Trimark: Bill Kanko resigns as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Kanko is replaced by Tye Bousada. Kanko's assistant, Richard Jenkins, is reassigned, and Dana Love takes over for Jenkins. In other words, it's a whole new ballgame on the management front. [6/04]
  
  AXA Premier Large Cap Value: Comanager Lisa Nurme retires from MFS, one of this fund's three subadvisors (i.e., outside managers). Nurme's colleague, Steven Gorham, will continue to run the MFS portion of this fund, now on his own. [6/04]
  
  Eaton Vance Tax-Managed International Growth: In-house manager Kiersten Christensen is replaced by Edward Allen, III and Thomas Hunt, III (just a coincidence: there is no requirement that the manager of this fund be a "III"). Allen and Hunt work for this fund's new subadvisor, Eagle Global Advisors. The fund's name is also changed, to Eaton Vance Tax-Managed International Equity. [6/04]
  
  Fidelity Select funds (several):
  
  

  Fidelity Select fund	Old manager	New manager
  Chemicals	John Roth	Matthew Friedman
  Cyclical Industries	Matthew Fruhan	Matthew Friedman
  Energy	Pratima Abichandani	Matthew Friedman
  Energy Service	Charles Hebard	Nathan Strik
  Food and Agriculture	Valerie Friedholm	Robert Lee
  Home Finance	Jeffrey Feingold	Valerie Friedholm
  Insurance	Ian Gutterman	Charles Hebard
  Multimedia	Matthew Friedman	John Roth
  Natural Resources	Pratima Abichandani	Matthew Friedman
  [6/04]

  
  
  MainStay Research Value: This fund had been subadvised by a four-person team from Merrill Lynch (D. Tysen Nutt, Robert Vogel, Jr., Anthony Lombardi and Jordan Irving). The whole team flew the Merrill coop, and landed at Delaware, so the fund is now in the hands of another Merrill employee, Joel Heymsfeld. [6/04; thanks to FundAlarm reader Sheldon Harber, CFP, for bringing this change to our attention]
  
  MainStay Small Cap Value: Subadvisory firm Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co. is fired, and new subadvisor MacKay Shields takes over. [6/04; change effective March 8, 2004]
  
  MFS Institutional Large Cap Value: Lisa Nurme retires as comanager, effective May 31, 2004. Steven Gorham will now run this fund solo. [6/04]
  
  MFS New Discovery: Donald Pitcher is replaced as comanager by Thomas Wetherald, effective June 30, 2004. Robert Henderson continues as the other comanager. [6/04]
  
  MFS Total Return: Lisa Nurme retires as a member of this eight-person management team, effective May 31, 2004. She is replaced by Alan Langsner. [6/04; thanks to FundAlarm reader "Peter Hill" for bringing this item, and the other Nurme retirements, to our attention]
  
  MFS Union Standard Equity: Lisa Nurme retires as comanager, effective May 31, 2004. James Perkins will now run this fund solo. [6/04]
  
  Oppenheimer Champion Income: Art Steinmetz steps down as lead manager, and comanager Dimitrios Kourkoulakos will now run this fund solo. [6/04]
  
  Oppenheimer High Yield: See Oppenheimer Champion Income, above. [6/04]
  
  Oppenheimer International Bond: Ruggero de Rossi leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Art Steinmetz, the new head of Oppy's international bond team, takes over. [6/04]
  
  Preferred Value: MFS is fired as subadvisor (outside manager), and Lord Abbett takes over. [6/04]
  
  Salomon Brothers Capital: Lead manager Ross Margolies steps down, and comanager Robert Donahue now runs this fund solo. [6/04]
  
  State Street Research Aurora: Caroline Evascu leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. Paul Haagensen, the other comanager, will run this fund solo, at least for a while. [6/04]
  
  TCW Galileo Large Cap Growth: Phillip Propper de Callejon, Jr. leaves as a member of this three-person management team. Wendy Barker and Douglas Foreman soldier on without him. [6/04]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2004:
  
  AIM Premier Equity: Robert Shelton is removed as lead manager, after less than year on the job, and Ronald Sloan takes his place. The former five-person team under Shelton is replaced by a nine-person team under Sloan, just in time for the transition from the basketball season to the baseball season. [5/04]
  
  Bonnel Growth: Beginning May 31, 2004, manager Arthur Bonnel will be taking "a well-deserved" (and apparently open-ended) sabbatical. During Bonnel's absence, the fund will be team-managed by the fund's advisor, U.S. Global Investors. FundAlarm comments: Not good news for Bonnel fans, who presumably make up a large percentage of the shareholder base. But kudos to U.S. Global Investors, which has not always been one of our favorite fund companies, for prominently displaying news of Bonnel's departure on its Web site. Had U.S. Global been so inclined -- and, in similar circumstances, many others have been -- this info easily could have been buried. [5/04]
  
  Citizens Balanced: Citizens finally gets around to amending its prospectus (on April 1, 2004), to announce the December, 2003 departure of comanager Robert Barringer. Sophia Collier replaces Barringer, and Susan Kelly continues in the other managerial seat. [5/04]
  
  Citizens Core Growth: Another belated announcement: Effective December, 2003, comanager Robert Barringer departed this fund, and left the firm. Sophia Collier now runs this fund solo. [5/04]
  
  Citizens Emerging Growth: Jeffrey Schappe leaves as manager, and leaves the firm, continuing the managerial unrest that has engulfed this firm since the summer of 2002. This fund will now be run by "a team of investment professionals." [5/04]
  
  Citizens Small Cap Core Growth: See Citizens Emerging Growth, above. [5/04]
  
  Dreyfus Discovery: Comanager Robert Ammann will resign from the fund and from the firm on May 14, 2004. It's not clear if Ammann will be replaced, but presumably at least current comanagers James Padgett and Brad Orr will remain in charge. [5/04]
  
  Dreyfus Enterprise: Comanager Robert Ammann will resign from his employer, Founders, on May 14, 2004, and he'll be gone from this fund, too. Current comanager James Padgett will presumably remain in charge, perhaps with assistance from someone else at a later date. [5/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Select Financial Services, below. [5/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Construction and Housing: Robert Bao is removed as manager, and Ramona Persaud takes over. [5/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: Jeffrey Feingold leaves as manager, and Matthew Fruhan takes his place. [5/04]
  
  GAM International: The three-person management team of Bennett, Bunker and Wainer is gone, replaced by a single, no doubt sterling individual (Sean Taylor). [5/04]
  
  GAM Japan Captial: Michael Bunker steps down as manager; he's replaced by Lesley Kaye. [5/04]
  
  GAM Pacific Basin: Same as GAM Japan Capital (i.e., Michael Bunker steps down as manager), but a different replacement: John Mytton. [5/04]
  
  Marsico Focus: Jim Hillary leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm (he's starting his own investment-management company). Tom Marsico, formerly the other half of this fund's management team, is now on his own. FundAlarm comments: Marsico has a fairly deep staff of analysts, and it's interesting to note that he didn't immediately appoint one of them to take Hillary's place. No one outside the firm can know exactly why a new comanager hasn't been appointed, but it's not necessarily good news for this fund. Marsico Focus cerainly isn't a candidate for sale, but it might warrant closer-than-usual performance monitoring. [5/04]
  
  Marsico Growth: See Marsico Focus, above. [5/04]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: We missed this one: Just after Glen Bickerstaff and Leigh Crawford of TCW took over for Spiros Segalas (at the end of October 2003), Crawford bailed out (effective January 1, 2004) to run a hedge fund. Bickerstaff "and team" now run his 20% of this fund. [5/04; thanks to a self-described "continuing education student at FundAlarm University" for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Vanguard International Value: Outside manager (subadvisor) Hansberger Global Investors, which had run this fund with a four-person team, is now down to a two-person team (Ajit Dayal and firm namesake Thomas Hansberger are gone, Aurelole Foong and Ronald Holt remain). Also, about 25%-30% of the fund's assets will be taken away from Hansberger, which first came on board in July 2000; those assets will be handed to Sanford Bernstein, and another 3% or so will be managed by Vanguard internally (via stock-index futures and/or exchange-traded funds). [5/04]
  
  Waddell & Reed Accumulative: Manager Antonio Intagliata will retire on June 30, 2004. New comanager Barry Ogden (appointed April 1, 2004), will then run the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Is it possible to have a long career in the mutual fund business, running a large-cap blend fund, and hardly ever beat the unmanaged S&P 500 Index? For aspirants to mediocrity, Mr. Intagliata proves that it is. New manager Ogden has had a short tenure (about three years) as Mr. Intagliata's assistant, and about seven years of experience at Waddell before that. If the best Ogden can do is match Intagliata's record -- and there's no reason, right now, to believe the new guy will do any better -- the best thing for you might be another fund. [5/04]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2004:
  
  American Century Giftrust: Linda Peterson leaves as comanager of this benighted fund, in order to spend more time with her stress counselor, uh, we mean, family. David Rose takes over for Peterson and Kurt Stalzer, aka The Prince of Darkness, remains as lead manager. [4/04]
  
  American Century Heritage: Linda Peterson leaves as comanager. She's replaced by David Rose, who will assist the continuing lead manager, Kurt Stalzer. [4/04]
  
  American Century Vista: David Rose leaves as comanager; he's headed for two other American Century offerings, Heritage and The Valley of the Shadow of Death, aka, Giftrust. Rose is replaced by David Hollond, who will join the continuing lead manager, Glenn Fogle. [4/04]
  
  Columbia Acorn: Effective April 30, 2004, John Park will leave as comanager. Park's current associates (lead manager Charles McQuaid and comanager Robert Mohn) will carry on without him. [4/04]
  
  Columbia Acorn Select: Effective April 30, 2004, John Park will leave as lead manager, and newly-appointed comanager Ben Andrews will get the chance to run this fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Park has compiled a terrific record at this fund, and Andrews is untested running a mutual fund (his immediate past experience is described as "senior technology analyst"). If you own this fund, and if you maintain a watch-list of suspect and underperforming funds (and you should), you might want to add this fund to your watch-list. Now. [4/04]
  
  Columbia Growth Stock: Catching up: Back in October 2003, Erik Gustafson left as manager, and Paul Blaustein (formerly of Atlantic Whitehall Growth) replaced him. [4/04]
  
  Columbia High-Yield: Kurt Havnaer is fired as manager, and former comanager Jeffrey Rippey takes over. According to a recent SEC complaint, Havnaer allowed a market timer to make one "round trip" trade per month in his fund, in violation of a strict prospectus prohibition on such activity. Looked good at the time. Not so smart now. [4/04; Havnaer was subsequently reinstated]
  
  Columbia Tax-Exempt: Kimberly Campbell is fired as manager, and former comanager Gary Swayze takes over. According to a recent SEC complaint, Campbell allowed an active market timer into her fund, in exchange for a "sticky asset" deal. Looked good at the time. [Readers are invited to provide the next sentence.] [4/04]
  
  Credit Suisse Emerging Growth: This fund experienced a major management change last July, and now the deck is shuffled again. Management team members Roger Harris, Sammy Oh and John Rhodes are replaced by Marian Pardo, Calvin Chung, Alen Margolius and Leo Bernstein (and the Pardo/Chung/Margolius/Bernstein households, at least, are all atwitter). Robert Janis is the only holdover from the previous management team. [4/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Automotive: Robert Bao leaves as manager, and Anmol Mehra replaces him. Mehra also runs Fidelity Select Paper & Forest Products, and Mehra's experience there should be directly relevant to this new assignment, since paper and forest products play such an important role in today's automotive industry. No, really. What about those little paper mats they put on the floor when you bring your car in for service? Where would the automotive industry be without those? [4/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Banking: Peter Hirsch is removed as manager, and Heather Lawrence takes over. In January, Lawrence left as manager of two other Select funds, and she apparently got stuck in the revolving door, since it took a couple of months for Fidelity to find her and reassign her to this fund. [4/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Defense and Aerospace: Alex Sacerdote heads out as manager, after less than 150 days on the job. New manager Christopher Bartel will take a few months to figure out what's in the portfolio, and then he'll be gone, too. [4/04]
  
  Harbor International Growth: Mastholm Asset Management "resigns" as subadvisor (outside manager), and James Gendelman, of Marsico Capital Management, takes over. [4/04]
  
  Heartland Select Value: Gerald Sandel leaves as lead manager and leaves the firm, effective April 30, 2004. He is starting his own money management company. Eric Miller, Sandel's comanager, will now be in charge, joined by comanagers Hugh Denison, David Fondrie, and Ted Baszler. Denison was a member of Heartland's board of directors when the firm's high-yield muni-bond funds suffered huge write-downs back in October 2000. Denison is also one of the defendants in a recent SEC enforcement action against Heartland, which arose out of his inept (and possibly fraudulent) director service. Incompetent and disgraced fund executives throughout the U.S. are keeping a close eye on Denison, since he may be the first to establish a new career path for them. [4/04]
  
  Ivy Pacific Opportunities: Thomas Mengel steps aside as manager, and Frederick Jiang takes over. [4/04]
  
  Jensen Portfolio: Namesake and lead manager Val Jensen retires. The remaining four-member team will continue to mange the fund, with one additional change: Team member David Davies is replaced by Eric Schoenstein. FundAlarm comments: As usual, the remaining managers of Jensen Portfolio want it both ways: They say that the departure of their founder and lead manager will have no effect on the fund, and they also contend that the management structure of the fund (which, according to the Jensen Web site, requires a considerable amount of human input and experience) will be unaffected. Here's our question: If a human being (Val Jensen) was part of a small investment team, and that human being leaves, how could the management structure possibly be unchanged? We don't buy it, and we'd keep a close eye on this fund, especially since it has recently gotten so big, so fast. [4/04]
  
  Meridian Value: Catching up on another one: Kevin O'Boyle left as comanager and left the firm, effective last fall. Richard Aster, head of the fund's investment advisor (Aster Investment Management), now runs this fund solo. [4/04]
  
  MFS Massachusetts Investors Trust: Brooks Taylor leaves as comanager, and John Laupheimer, Jr. will now run this fund by himself. Taylor is moving over to MFS Total Return, where he will be just another face in a large mangerial crowd. [4/04]
  
  Neuberger Berman Socially Responsive: Catching up one last time: Janet Prindle left as lead manager, it looks like mid-December 2003. This fund is now run by former comanager Arthur Moretti, assisted by Ingrid Dyott. [4/04]
  
  Newport Tiger: Christopher Legallet is fired as manager, and former comanager Eric Sandlund takes over. Newport Tiger is part of the Columbia funds family, and (according to a recent SEC complaint) Legallet allowed an active market timer to predate his fund as part of a "sticky asset" deal. [4/04]
  
  Putnam Asset Allocation (Growth, Bal, Conserv): Graham Spiers leaves as a "portfolio member," and Bruce MacDonald takes his place. Jeffrey Knight continues as "portfolio leader" which, in Putnamese, is the top managerial spot. [4/04]
  
  Putnam Mid Cap Value: Thomas Hoey leaves as "portfolio leader," and Edward Shadek (promoted from "portfolio member") takes Hoey's place. Shadek also gets a buddy as portfolio leader (James A. Polk), who wasn't previously associated with this fund. [4/04]
  
  Westcore Growth: Manager Milford Schulhof will retire as of August 2, 2004, and current comanager Victoria Cunningham will run the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Schulhof turned in a good performance at this fund, and Cunningham has been on board only since last October. Starting now (the beginning of the "seamless transition" period, according to a Westcore press release), we'd keep a watchful eye on performance, and be prepared to sell if performance starts to deteriorate. [4/04; Update @ 5/04: Ross Moscatelli will join Cunningham as comanager]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2004:
  
  Columbia Small Company Equity: William Garrison is fired as manager, for making frequent trades in his 401(k) account involving this fund (and other funds, as well). Paul Berlinguet takes over. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Health Care: See Fidelity Select Health Care, below. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Tax Managed Stock: See Fidelity Tax Managed Stock, below. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Focused Stock: Manager Bahaa Fam moves to a more "Structured" environment (see below), and Richard Haber replaces him. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Electronics: Samuel Peters is out as manager, and James Morrow is in. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Environmental: Jed Weiss doesn't even make a year as manager. His replacement, also not making any long-term plans, is Douglas Simmons. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Health Care: Steven Calhoun exits through the revolving door, and Samuel Peters enters. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Equipment and Systems: See Fidelity Select Health Care, above. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products: Vincent Rivers survives over two years as manager of a Fidelity Select fund! Now, he's gone, and Anmol Mehra takes his place. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Structured Large Cap Growth: Jeffrey Kerrigan leaves as manager, and Bahaa Fam takes over. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Structured Mid Cap Growth: See Fidelity Structured Large Cap Growth, above. [3/04]
  
  Fidelity Tax Managed Stock: Timothy Heffernan is removed as manager, and Keith Quinton takes over. [3/04]
  
  Hotchkis and Wiley Large Cap Value: Manager Gail Bardin will retire in April 2004. Comanager Sheldon Lieberman will be joined by George Davis. [3/04]
  
  Lutheran Brotherhood: There are manager changes at four funds from this family, as follows:
  • Lutheran Brotherhood: OUT: James Walline IN: Frederick Plautz
  • Lutheran Brotherhood Growth: OUT: James Walline IN: Scott Vergin
  • Lutheran Brotherhood Opportunity Growth: OUT: Brian Thorkelson IN: Andrea Thomas
  • Lutheran Brotherhood Value: OUT: Harold Goldstein IN: Lewis Bohannon [3/04]
  
  Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty: Michael Hahn mysteriously disappears as manager, and he's replaced by a team that includes Brian Fullerton (who's head of "Global Risk Management" for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers), Anthony Patti (who's a Senior Risk Officer), and Linfeng You (who's a Senior Risk Analyst). Are we detecting a theme here? [3/04]
  
  Mutuals.com Generation Wave: These funds get to wave bye-bye to managers Richard Sapio and Eric McDonald. Remaining comanager Daniel Ahrens will run these funds solo. FundAlarm comments: Sapio and McDonald are in serious legal trouble for their alleged massive market-timing and late-trading activities in another part of the company but, of course, those problems are officially unrelated to this managerial move. If Mutuals.com eventually implodes, as we predict it will, these funds will get to wave bye-bye to their investors, as well. [3/04]
  
  Northern Large Cap Value: Carl Domino is gone as manager. Former comanager M. David Roberts takes over, assisted by Betsy Turner and Alan Britton. FundAlarm comments: There's more to this change than meets the eye. Domino's management firm was acquired by Northern Trust in May 2000, and this fund was started shortly thereafter to showcase Domino's talents. The fund has performed well, but Domino says that he was locked out of his office on December 10 of last year. Northern isn't talking, but there are at least two possible explanations for Domino's sudden non grata status. Domino is also an elected state representative in Florida, and it's possible that Northern became uncomfortable with his political career. More likely, though, the dispute is about money. As part of the buyout of Domino's firm, Northern became obligated in May 2003 to pay a significant amount of money to Domino and several former principals of his firm. Northern balked at these payments, a nasty squabble ensued, and Domino now finds himself an ex-money manager. But not for long: Domino plans to start another firm, which should be up and running by May, so Domino may get the last laugh after all. [3/04]
  "Fund Manager Domino Says Northern Trust Wrongfully Fired Him," John Shipman, Dow Jones Newswires, February 18, 2004
  
  Sentinel Flex Cap Opportunity: Fred Alger Management is fired as subadvisor. Sentinel brings day-to-day management of this fund in-house, under Robert L. Lee. [3/04]
  
  Vanguard Capital Value: Charles Freeman will retire as manager in June, and comanager David Fassnacht will take over. [3/04]
  
  Vanguard Windsor: Lead manager Charles Freeman will retire at the end of June 2004. New lead manager David Fassnacht has worked with Freeman at subadvisor Wellington Capital Management for over a decade, and has been associate manager of this fund since January 2001. [3/04]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2004:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Consumer Industries: See Fidelity Select Consumer Industries, below. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity Advisor International Small Cap: See Fidelity International Small Cap, below. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity International Small Cap: L.C. Kvaal leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm to "pursue another business opportunity" that we'll bet begins with "hedge." Kvaals colleague Tokuya Sano remains, joined by Ben Paton. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Air Transportation: Heather Lawrence is out as manager, and Harlan Carere will brave the spotlight for a while. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Industries: Christian Zann makes it past 12 months as manager! But just barely, and now he's gone. Joshua Spencer takes over. `]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: See Fidelity Select Air Transportation, above. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity Structured Large Cap Value: Robert Macdonald takes a leave from this fund, and fellow quant-jock Ciaran O'Neill replaces him. [2/04]
  
  Fidelity Structured Mid Cap Value: See Fidelity Structured Large Cap Value, above. [2/04]
  
  Legg Mason Special Investment: Manager Lisa Rapuano has found something even more special than this fund -- a hedge-fund pay check -- and she's gone (you can drop her a note at Matador Capital, in St. Petersburg, Florida, if you are so inclined). Legendary thirteen-year-in-a-row-S&P 500-beating manager Bill Miller takes over, assisted by the Legg Mason team. [2/04]
  
  Morgan Stanley Aggressive Equity: Anita Kolleeny leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. Kolleeny's former colleague Michelle Kaufman (of the "sector rotation team") is now in charge, joined by Allison Williams. [2/04]
  
  Morgan Stanley Allocator: This fund doesn't have a "best boy," but otherwise its credit trail would rival that of some movies. There's a sector rotation team, a fixed income team, and about 12 people between them who are named as fund managers in the prospectus. What we do know is that Anita Kolleeny, a senior member of the sector rotation team, has left the fund, and left the firm. [2/04]
  
  Morgan Stanley American Opportunities: Long-time manager Anita Kolleeny leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Morgan Stanley's sector rotation team continues to be in charge, now led by Kolleeny's former colleagues Michelle Kaufman and Allison Williams. [2/04]
  
  Mutual Financial Services: Jeffrey Diamond leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Todd Jonasz (who?) gets a promotion from Diamond's assistant manager, and he's joined by John Wimsatt (who?). [2/04]
  
  Mutual Qualified: Jeffrey Diamond leaves as lead manager. Diamond's former assistant manager, Anne Gudefin (who?), gets promoted to the top spot, and she's joined by Shawn Tumulty (who?). [2/04]
  
  TA IDEX American Century International: Mark Kopinksi is removed from this fund's three-person management team. Henrik Strabo and Keith Creveling will find a way to carry on without him. [2/04]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2004:
  
  AIM Balanced: Stay with us here, because there are lots of names: Four members of the six-person team running this fund are removed (those four would be Robert Alley, Claude Cody, Craig Smith, and Meggan Walsh; Walsh and Alley are still with the firm, Cody and Smith are gone). The old regime is replaced by four new team members, led by Bret Stanley, and including R.Cannon Coleman II, Matthew Seinsheimer, and Michael Simon. The new team also includes two bond managers (Jan Friedli and Scot Johnson) who are carryovers from the old team. Now, are you ready for the test? [1/04]
  
  AIM Basic Balanced: Robert Alley is out as lead manager, and Bret Stanley is in. Otherwise, the team running this fund is the same as the new team at AIM Balanced (above). [1/04]
  
  Fidelity China Region: Joseph Tse is removed as manager, and Ignatius Lee takes over. [1/04]
  
  Fidelity Emerging Markets: John Carlson gets the managerial axe. His replacement is Robert B. von Rekowsky. [1/04]
  
  Franklin Utilities: Robert Becker leaves as a member of the management team (he's headed for Cohen & Steers). Lead manager John Kohli remains, assisted (as before) by Gregory Johnson. [1/04]
  
  Janus Growth and Income: David Corkins steps down as manager, and Minyoung Sohn replaces him. FundAlarm comments: Growth and Income has been one of Janus' standout funds, so this change is somewhat of a puzzle. It's especially puzzling coming so soon after Janus got caught up in the fund scandals, since you'd think the firm would want to avoid rocking the boat more than necessary. Frankly, we're at a loss to figure this one out, unless Janus wants Corkins to concentrate on turning around Janus Mercury, his other fund, which has definitely not been a standout. In any event, if we owned this fund, we'd put it on a careful watch. [1/04]
  
  Managers Special Equity: Disgraced subadvisor Gary Pilgrim (of Pilgrim Baxter) is fired, and Essex Investment Management takes over the Pilgrim Baxter portion of the portfolio. [1/04]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: Spiros Segalas is removed from the management team. Glen Bickerstaff and Leigh Crawford, of TCW, take his place, and they will handle 20% of this fund's portfolio. [1/04; change effective October 29, 2003]
  
  MTB Balanced: J. Eric Leo leaves as a member of the management team, and leaves the firm. His comanagers, Allen Ashcroft and James Hannan, will continue. [1/04]
  
  MTB Multi-Cap Growth: J. Eric Leo leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. Thomas DeHudy will soldier on without him. [1/04]
  
  MTB Small Cap Growth: H. Giles Knight resigns as comanager, and leaves the firm. James Thorne will now run this fund solo. [1/04]
  
  MTB Social Balanced: See MTB Balanced, above. [1/04]
  
  Vanguard U.S. Growth: Christopher Toub leaves as comanager of this perennial sad-sack fund, and Alan Levi and John Blundin will now share the pain. We're guessing that Toub had seniority, and he pulled rank on the other guys to get this blot off of his resume. Now, wouldn't it be funny if this fund takes off without Toub? Oops, we almost forgot: This is Vanguard U.S. Growth. It's going nowhere. [1/04]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2003:
  
  Atlantic Whitehall Balanced: Paul Blaustein leaves as manager of the equity portion of this portfolio, and also leaves the firm. CIO Jeff Thomas replaces Blaustein, David Smith stays with the fixed-income portfolio, and Fred Weiss also joins the party. [12/03; thanks to long-time FundAlarm reader Charles Jordan for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Atlantic Whitehall Growth: Paul Blaustein leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. The fund has adopted the kitchen-sink approach to management, with CIO Jeff Thomas, "Senior Investment Professional" Fred Weiss, and analyst Paul McPheeters now listed as being in charge. FundAlarm comments: We can't resist this one. Right there on the Atlantic Whitehall Web site, on the page for Atlantic Whitehall Growth, is the following paragraph:
  
  

  In an industry known for the high turnover of investment talent, Jeff [Thomas] has been largely responsible for creating a strong team ethic within the analyst/portfolio manager group. This has resulted in great stability of the investment team and the investment process.

  
  Uh, excuse me guys. Do you even know that you just lost a pretty good manager? [12/03]
  
  MFS Emerging Growth: John Lathrop is removed as manager. Lathrop's remaining team members (Dale Dutile, David Sette-Ducati and Eric Fischman) will carry on. [12/03]
  
  MFS Global Growth: John Lathrop gets the axe as manager of this fund's U.S. equity portfolio. Lathrop is replaced by Barry Dargan. [12/03]
  
  MFS Growth Opportunities: Paul McMahon is gone as manager, and Gregory Locraft takes over. [12/03]
  
  MFS Large Cap Growth: John Lathrop gets the opposite of a Christmas bonus (he's removed as manager). A three-person team, led by Margaret Adams, takes over. [12/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Disciplined Allocation: Bruce Bartlett leaves as comanager of this fund's equity portfolio, and leaves the firm. Emmanuel Ferreira replaces Bartlett, and Ferreira will now work with comanager Christopher Leavy. Angelo Maioudakis remains as fixed-income manager. [12/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Equity: Bruce Bartlett leaves as comanager, and leaves the firm. Alan Gilston replaces Bartlett, while Christopher Leavy remains as comanager. [12/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Midcap: Bruce Bartlett leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's replaced by Alan Gilston. [12/03]
  
  Putnam Europe Equity: Lead manager Omid Kamshad is fired, for market-timing his own fund. His three former teammates will carry on, led by Heather Arnold. [12/03]
  
  Putnam International Equity: Lead manager Omid Kamshad is fired, for market-timing his own fund. His four team members will carry on without him, jointly led by Joshua Byrne and Simon Davis. According to Putnam, a search is underway for an additional "resource" for this fund, which is apparently a nicer way of saying "body." [12/03]
  
  Putnam Vista: Justin Scott is fired for market-timing his own fund. His three team members will continue to run the fund, perhaps with greater integrity. [12/03]
  
  Undiscovered Managers REIT: Bay Isle is removed as manager, and J.P. Morgan Investment Management takes over (subject to shareholder approval). J.P. Morgan is in the process of purchasing the entire line of Undiscovered Managers funds, but this is the only Undiscovered fund that will experience a change in its day-to-day management. [12/03]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2003:
  
  AllianceBernstein Technology: Gerald Malone is booted as manager, for allowing hedge-fund investors to market-time his (i.e., your) fund. If you ever see Malone at a social event, you might ask him to return the small amount of money that he allowed those folks to steal from you. Janet Walsh takes over for Malone; she currently runs AllianceBernstein Select Investor Series Technology, with no great distinction. [11/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Manager Joshua Spencer exits through the revolving door, and Brian Kennedy steps right in. [11/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Business Services and Outsourcing: James Morrow is replaced as manager, and Dion Hershan takes Morrow's place. [11/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Defense and Aerospace: Matthew Fruhan is bumped as manager, and Alexander Sacerdote takes his place. [11/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Alexander Sacerdote rotates out as manager (he's headed for Select Defense and Aerospace, a move that makes sense -- Leisure to Defense -- only at Fidelity). Sacerdote is replaced by Joshua Spencer. [11/03]
  
  Fidelity Utilities: Martin Zinny leaves as manager, and Andrew Burzumato takes over. [11/03]
  
  Morgan Stanley massacre: Morgan Stanley has fired the equity staff of the former Miller Anderson & Sherrerd, which Morgan acquired for $350 million back in January 1996. The changes ripple through 12 Morgan Stanley and Van Kampen funds (below), as follows:
  
  Institutional funds

  Morgan Stanley Institutional fund	Old management team	New management team
  Equity	Brian Kramp Eric Scharpf	James Gilligan (lead) Thomas Bastian Sergio Marcheli James Roeder Vicent Vizachero
  Strategic Small Value	Bradley Daniels William Gerlach James Jolinger Matthew Todorow	Richard Glass (lead) Sarah Ogiony
  U.S. Mid Cap Value (formerly U.S. Mid Cap Core)	Bradley Daniels William Gerlach Matthew Todorow Charles Purcell	James Gilligan (lead) Thomas Bastian Sergio Marcheli James Roeder Vicent Vizachero
  U.S. Small Cap Value (formerly U.S. Small Cap Core)	Bradley Daniels James Jolinger Matthew Todorow	Richard Glass (lead) Sarah Ogiony
  Value	Richard Behler Brian Kramp Eric Scharpf	B. Robert Baker (lead) Jason Leder Kevin Holt
  Value Equity	Richard Behler Matthew Levitties Eric Scharpf	James Gilligan (lead) Thomas Bastian Sergio Marcheli James Roeder Vicent Vizachero

  
  
  Other Morgan Stanley funds

  Morgan Stanley fund	Old management team	New management team
  Dividend Growth	Richard Behler Steven Epstein Brian Kramp Matthew Levitties Eric Scharpf	Sean Aurigemma Aarn Clark
  Market Leader	Guy Rutherfurd, Jr. Aaron Clark	William Auslander Jeffrey Alvino [11/03]

  
  
  Nicholas-Applegate Global Select: Manager Catherine Nicholas will retire on December 31, 2003, and co-managers Nicholas Melhuish and Pedro Marcal will take her place some time "between now and then." [11/03]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate International Core Growth: There's retirement in the air at Nicholas-Applegate Manager Loretta Morris is also retiring at the end of this year. Chief Investment Officer Horacio Valeiras will take her place, effective November 1. [11/03]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate International Growth Opportunities: Manager Loretta Morris is retiring at the end of this year. Effective November 1, Chief Investment Officer Horacio Valeiras will take her place as lead manager, joined by Christopher Herrera. [11/03]
  
  North Track Managed Growth: John O'Hare leaves as manager, and leaves the firm that subadvises this fund. Co-managers Amy Croen and William Priebe carry on. [11/03]
  
  Oakmark Global: Greg Jackson leaves as manager, and resigns as a principal of the firm, officially "to be closer to family." That's actually a half-truth (or, if you prefer, a half-lie): Steve Schurr of TheStreet.com reports that Jackson is joining a San Francisco hedge fund (Blum Capital Partners L.P.), and Jackson will work out of his Utah home, presumably with his adoring family gathered around the hearth as he clicks away on his computer. Clyde McGregor, of Oakmark Equity and Income, is the new co-manager, joining current co-manager Michael Walsh. FundAlarm comments: First of all, it's inexcusable that Oakmark wasn't straight with its investors, and didn't tell them the truth: Jackson is leaving to join a hedge fund. Oakmark has been one of the firms appearing on the "good guy" lists recently, and genuine good guys don't keep important, publicly available information away from their clients. In any event, Jackson compiled a superb record at this fund, and his loss is significant. Just this past July, Clyde ("Yo-Yo") McGregor asked to be relieved of his responsibilities at Oakmark Small Cap, because he was spread too thin. Unless McGregor has improved his spreading ability, or unless he knows this fund is easy to run, or unless he doesn't plan to spend a lot of time at this new job, it's not clear to us why McGregor was chosen for this assignment. It's also not clear what expertise, if any, McGregor brings to a global fund. If we owned this fund, we'd be inclined to hold, based solely on Oakmark's reputation. But we gotta tell you, guys: You're pushing it. [11/03]
  
  Putnam Global Natural Resources: Lisa Svensson leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Josh Brooks replaces her. [11/03]
  
  Putnam Vista: Eric Wetlaufer leaves as lead manager (fired?), and leaves the firm. The remaining members of Wetlaufer's team will continue to run the fund without him. FundAlarm comments: Manager changes like this puzzle us -- or, more specifically, the response to manager changes like this. If, as seems likely, Wetlaufer was fired for poor performance, why is there any expectation that his former team will show more ability without him than they showed with him? Did Wetlaufer sqeulch all intelligence and spark in his team, which will suddently flourish now that the big, bad ogre has been removed? We suppose it's possible, but that, in turn, would raise serious questions about Putnam's personnel policy. No, the most likely scenario is that Wetlaufer was removed because Putnam wanted to do something, anything, about this chronically mediocre fund, and they hope that the remaining members of the team will do better. If we owned Putnam Vista, we'd want something more tangible than hope -- for example, another fund. [11/03]
  
  Putnam Voyager: See Putnam Vista, above [11/03] Putnam Voyager has performed somewhat better than Vista but, basically, our comments about Vista apply here, too. [11/03]
  
  Van Kampen funds (several): The following changes were part of the Morgan Stanley massacre, above [11/03]:
  
  

  Van Kampen fund	Old management team	New management team
  American Value	William Gerlach Bradley Daniels James Jolinger Matthew Todorow	James Gilligan Thomas Bastian Sergio Marcheli James Roeder Vicent Vizachero
  Enterprise	Jeff New Michael Davis Sean Conner Mary Jayne Maly	Steve Boyd Mary Jayne Maly Thomas Copper
  Growth	Jeff New Michael Davis Sean Conner Mary Jayne Maly	Dennis Lynch David Cohen
  Harbor	Christine Drusch Ellen Gold David McLaughlin	Ellen Gold David McLaughlin
  Pace	Thomas Cooper Guy Rutherfurd	William Auslander Jeffrey Alvino
  Utility	Christine Drusch David McLaughlin	Edward Gaylor Christine Drusch Ronald Silvestri
  Value	Richard Behler Brian Kramp Eric Scharpf	B. Robert Baker Jason Leder Kevin Holt [11/03]

  
  
• Originally posted October 2003:
  
  Credit Suisse Japan Equity (formerly Credit Suisse Japan Growth): Hideo Kawakita leaves as co-manager, and Shuji Sugata will now run this fund solo. We missed the previous manager change, when Kawakita and Sugata took over from Nicholas Edwards in June of this year. [10/03]
  
  Dreyfus Midcap Value: Brian Ferguson leaves as co-manager, and David Daglio replaces him. Peter Higgins remains as the other co-manager. [10/03]
  
  Dreyfus Greater China: Raymond Chan leaves as manager, and he's replaced by Adrian Au. [10/03]
  
  Dreyfus Strategic Value: Quinn Stills leaves as manager. His replacement is Brian Ferguson. [10/03]
  
  Elfun Diversified: David Carlson is replaced as manager of this fund's domestic equity portfolio (this change is related to changes at the GE funds, discussed below). Christopher Brown takes over for Carlson. [10/03]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Japan: June-Yom Kim leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Kim is replaced by Dale Nicholls. [10/03]
  
  Fidelity Pacific Basin: June-Yom Kim leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. William Kennedy replaces her. Kennedy previously managed this fund from 1998 to 2000 or, as they call two years at Fidelity, "an eternity." [10/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Industrial Materials: Mark Schmehl is removed as manager, and Jody Simes takes his chair for a while. [10/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Multimedia: Brian Kennedy is booted as manager, and Matthew Friedman takes over. [10/03]
  
  GE Global Equity: David Carlson and Ralph Layman are replaced as lead managers of this fund's domestic equity and international equity portfolios, respectively. Daizo Motoyoshi is the new lead manager. [10/03]
  
  GE Small-Cap Value Equity: Richard Meisenberg, an employee of this fund's subadvisor (Palisade Capital Management), resigns as a member of the six-person management team. It's now a five-person management team. [10/03]
  
  GE Strategic Investment: David Carlson is replaced as manager of this fund's domestic equity portfolio (he's been promoted, and now manages the "overall U.S. equity investments" for GE Asset Management). Christopher Brown replaces Carlson, while Ralph Layman remains as manager of international equities. [10/03]
  
  GE U.S. Equity: Eugene Bolton retires as lead manager, and David Carlson takes over. [10/03]
  
  Managers International Equity: Deutsche Investment Management Americas is fired as one of this fund's three subadvisors, and Willy Holzer, of Lazard Asset Management, takes over the Deutsche portion of the portfolio. Until very recently, Holzer worked for Deutsche on this fund (and had since 1989). When Holzer left Deutsche for Lazard, the fund wanted to keep him, hence this change. To further complicate matters, Lazard was fired as a subadvisor of this fund as recently as March 2002 (pre-Willy Holzer, of course). [10/03]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Value: William Patzer leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Walid Kassem stays behind; he'll be joined by analysts Jacqueline Bell and Lawrence Berman, both of whom have prior experience on this fund. [10/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street: Chuck Albers retires as manager (effective at the end of this year), and long-time co-manager Nikos Monoyios takes over the lead spot. Monoyios is joined by Marc Reinganum (sorry, Dr. Marc Reinganum), a former business school professor who has apparently decided that he wants to make some money. FundAlarm comments: Since Albers took over in 1998, this fund has tracked the S&P 500 almost to the dollar, and you can expect more of the same under the new regime. You could do a lot worse than that, and millions will, but you could also do better -- either an index fund (potentially a lot cheaper), or an actively-managed large-blend fund with a better shot at outrunning the index. Now that there's a break in management, maybe it's time for you to consider making a break. [10/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street Opportunity: Chuck Albers retires as manager (effective 12/31/03), and co-manager Nikos Monoyios takes over. [10/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Main Street Small Cap: Chuck Albers retires as manager (effective 12/31/03), and co-manager Mark Zavanelli replaces him [10/03]
  
  Seligman (several funds): Subject to shareholder approval, Seligman replaces its in-house Global Investment Group with Wellington Management Company, and the following funds are affected. The new lead managers, all Wellington employees, are indicated in parentheses:
  
  

  Global Emerging Markets (Vera Trojan) Global Growth (Andrew Offit) Global Smaller Companies (Edward Malkin, Jamie Rome) International Growth (Andrew Offit)

  
  The move comes because Seligman has decided to "exit the global investment advisory business (other than the technology sector)." The principal investment strategies of these funds (except Emerging Markets) has also changed, to reflect Wellington's bottom-up management style. [10/03]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2003:
  
  AFBA funds (several): The three-person team that manages several Buffalo funds (see below) also manages (subadvises) several AFBA funds. Manager Thomas Laming has left the Buffalo team to start his own firm, so the following AFBA funds are now short one manager:
  
  • AFBA Five Star Large Cap (Laming was described as "lead manager")
  • AFBA Five Star Mid Cap
  • AFBA Five Star Small Cap
  • AFBA Five Star USA Global (Laming was describe as "lead manager"
  Buffalo is reportedly searching to replace Laming but, for now, Laming's former colleagues (Kent Gasaway and Robert Male) will handle these funds on their own. Laming was also lead manager of AFBA Five Star Science & Technology, which will now be run by an "investment committee." [9/03]
  
  AllianceBernstein Global Value: According to morningstar.com, lead manager Andrew Adelson plans to retire from this fund at the end of this year. No word yet on whether co-managers Kevin Simms and Sharon Fay will take over, or whether they will have any additional help. [9/03]
  
  AllianceBernstein International Value: Lead manager Andrew Adelson plans to retire from this fund at the end of this year. No word yet on whether co-manager Kevin Simms will take over, or who might assist him. [9/03]
  
  Bernstein Tax-Managed International Value: Andrew Adelson plans to retire at the end of the year. His successor is still being sorted out, but Alliance (the company that recently bought Bernstein, and actually runs this fund) says that the fund is likely to shift from its value orientation to more of a blend approach. No obvious replacement for Adelson + significant change of investment style = potential danger. [9/03]
  
  Buffalo Large Cap: See Buffalo Small Cap, below. [9/03]
  
  Buffalo Mid Cap: See Buffalo Small Cap, below. [9/03]
  
  Buffalo Small Cap: Thomas Laming leaves as a member of this fund's three-person management team, and he leaves the firm. Laming, who is also taking an analyst with him, is starting his own money management firm, which may run mutual funds, in addition to separate accounts and the obligatory hedge fund(s). Laming's former colleagues (Kent Gasaway and Robert Male) will handle these funds on their own, until a replacement for Laming can be found. FundAlarm comments: John Kornitzer, who runs the firm that manages this fund, and who used to be Laming's employer, has an obvious interest in downplaying the significance of Laming's departure, so he's been quoted uttering such nonsense as: "It's a three-man team running the funds. So when you lose one, it's no big deal. We're not going to miss a beat." What does Kornitizer think we are, idiots? What, exactly, did Laming do, so that his departure will have absolutely no effect on the fund? Does this even make sense? Of course not. The problem is, it's impossible to tell how much Laming contributed to the success of this exceptional fund. If we owned this fund (and we do, by the way, having bought in about a month before Laming's departure), we'd sit tight and keep a close eye on the remaining managers, and whoever they bring in to replace Laming. We won't be afraid to bail, but we won't be rushing into it, either. [9/03]
  
  Buffalo Science & Technology: Thomas Laming leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. A three-person team (John Kornitzer, Kent Gasaway and Robert Male) takes over. [9/03]
  
  Buffalo USA Global: See Buffalo Small Cap, above. [9/03]
  
  Hancock Focused Small Cap Growth: See Hancock Small Cap Growth, below. [9/03]
  
  Hancock Multi Cap Growth: Bernice Behar leaves as co-manager, and apparently leaves the firm. Lead manager Anurag Pandit takes over, and it looks like he will run the fund solo, at least for a while. [9/03]
  
  Hancock Small Cap Growth: Bernice Behar leaves as lead manager, and apparently leaves the firm. Co-manager Anurag Pandit takes over, joined by Thomas Norton. [9/03; thanks to FundAlarm reader "Miles Avisles" for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Hancock U.S. Global Leaders Growth (two listings): Last month, we reported that Yeager, Wood & Marshall was fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and Hancock took this fund's management in-house, under chief investment officer William Braman. FundAlarm comments: As we also reported last month, this fund was founded in 1995 by George Yeager, and George Fraise was added as co-manager in 2000. Hancock bought the fund a little more than a year ago, and kept Yeager's firm as subadvisor. When Fraise (and Gordon Marchand, another portfolio manager) left the Yeager firm, Hancock decided to pull the plug, even though George Yeager was still around. What's the latest wrinkle? Hancock has tracked down Fraise and Marchand at their new firm, and handed them the reins of this fund -- again. Guess that means Fraise was the brains behind this operation after all. [9/03]
  
  Vanguard Equity Income: Newell Associates is fired as one of three subadvisors, and Newell's 50% share of the fund's portfolio is reallocated to exisiting subadvisor Wellington Management (which gets 20% more to manage) and Vanguard's in-house Quantitative Equity Group (which gets 30%). Wellington was first brought on board in December 1999, to replace Spare, Kaplan, Bischel & Associates, so (by Vanguard standards) this fund has experienced quite a bit of turnover. [9/03]
  
  WPG Tudor: Walter Predergast is removed as manager. He's replaced by Richard Shuster and Greg Weiss. The fund is also switching from a small-growth to a small-value strategy, although neither new manager plans a sex-change operation. [9/03]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2003:
  
  BlackRock High Yield Bond: Michael Buchanan leaves as manager, and leaves the firm; he's headed for Janus High-Yield. Co-manager Dennis Schaney and Scott Amero take over for Buchanan. [8/03]
  
  Credit Suisse (several): Credit Suisse continues to have trouble absorbing Warburg Pincus, and several more former WP managers hit the road: Elizabeth Dater (known for her Louis Rukeyser appearances), Vincent McBride, and Todd Jacobson. Dater's departure is scheduled for September 30, while McBride and Jacobson are already history.
  
  

  Credit Suisse fund	Former management team	New management team
  Emerging Growth	Elizabeth Dater, Sammy Oh, Roger Harris	Roger Harris, Sammy Oh, Robert Janis
  Global Post-Venture Capital	Co-managers Elizabeth Dater, Vincent McBride, Greg Norton-Kidd; Associate manager Calvin Chung.	Robert Janis, Greg-Norton Kidd, Calvin Chung
  Global Technology	Co-managers Scott Lewis and Vincent McBride; Associate managers David Lefkowitz and Maimis Shah	David Lefkowitz
  International Focus	Co-managers Vincent McBride,Todd Jacobson, Nancy Nierman; "assisted by" Greg Norton-Kidd, Anne Budlong, Harry Jaffe, Todor Petrov	Nancy Nierman, Greg Norton-Kidd, Anne Budlong, Harry Jaffe, Todor Petrov
  Small Cap Growth	Co-managers Elizabeth Dater, Sammy Oh	Sammy Oh, Roger Harris, Robert Janis
  [8/03]

  
  Fidelity Advisor Leveraged Company Stock: See Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock, below. [8/03]
  
  Fidelity Capital & Income: David Glancy resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Mark Notkin, who has no record as an open-end fund manager, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Glancy posted some good numbers at this fund, and Notkin has no significant, public record, so this no longer seems like a promising place to be invested. Unfortunately, there are few better high-yield choices at Fidelity except, perhaps, for Fidelity Advisor High Income Advantage, managed by Thomas Soviero, but Soviero's fund comes with all sorts of loads and 12b-1 fees. If we owned Capital & Income, and we felt that we absolutely needed some high-yield exposure, we'd probably grit our teeth and give new manager Notkin a twelve-month trial period. [8/03]
  
  Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock: David Glancy resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Thomas Soviero replaces Glancy. FundAlarm comments: Let's see what we know about David Glancy's recent performance record: Decent numbers at Fidelity Capital & Income, his other fund, from 1996 through 2002, and (so far) a spectacular 2003. Decent numbers at this fund (Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock) in 2001 and 2002, and (so far) a spectacular 2003. Hmmm, looks like 2003 is an outlier at both funds, which suggests a certain degree of luck, and hardly seems like a foundation for a successful hedge fund. As we recall, Fidelity shooting-star-then-hedge-fund-manager Erin Sullivan had a similar career profile, and ultimately landed with a thud. We wonder if she has some extra office space that might be available to Glancy in the near future? New manager Soviero has been a decent high-yield manager (Fidelity Advisor High Income Advantage), but there's no way he'll be able to continue Glancy's winning ways (heck, Glancy himself couldn't have). If you've enjoyed the ride up with this fund, and you're prepared to ride it back down to earth, you might want to give Soviero a chance. Or, you might want to take your profits off the table, while you still have them, and redeploy the cash elsewhere. On the other hand, if you bought this fund recently, and only because it had started to run (now why would you do that?), it might be time to sell and look elsewhere. [8/03]
  
  Hancock U.S. Global Leaders Growth: Yeager, Wood & Marshall is fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and Hancock takes the management in-house, at least for a while, under chief investment officer William Braman. FundAlarm comments: The events at this fund are mildly curious. This fund was founded in 1995 by George Yeager (the guy with his name on the door), and George Fraise was added as co-manager in 2000. Hancock bought the fund a little more than a year ago, and kept Yeager's firm as subadvisor. Recently, Fraise (and Gordon Marchand, another portfolio manager) left the Yeager firm, and that's when Hancock decided to pull the plug, even though George Yeager is still around. Maybe Hancock knew that Friase was really running the show, or maybe Hancock didn't want to share the management fee any longer, and Fraise's departure was a good excuse to yank the management contract. In any event, if Hancock doesn't hire a good, new subadvisor -- and soon -- we'd be saying goodbye to this fund. [8/03]
  
  Janus High-Yield: Sandy Rufenacht leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's starting his own fixed-income money management company (Three Peaks Capital), and he's also taking with him what appears to be the entire Janus high-yield support team (two analysts and a trader). Michael Buchanan, of BlackRock High Yield Bond Portfolio, takes over for Rufenacht. FundAlarm comments: As a Janus bond manager, Rufenacht has always been a fish out of water, so he's finally decided to create his own pond. Rufenacht says that he wants to "build the same Janus culture" in his new firm, which means that all arrogant, overconfident bond managers will want to polish their resumes and send them along to Rufenacht. For the time being, Rufenacht says that he's going to concentrate on managing private accounts, and perhaps subadvising other firms' mutual funds, so don't expect any Rufenacht fund offerings anytime soon. New manager Buchanan was with his previous charge, BlackRock High Yield, almost since its 1998 inception, and Buchanan (along with co-manager Dennis Schaney) turned in almost exactly the same cumulative performance numbers as Rufenacht at Janus High Yield. If we owned Janus High Yield, we'd definitely give Buchanan a chance, but there are at least two important unknowns: How much did Buchanan (as opposed to his co-manager) really contribute to BlackRock High Yield, and how much will Buchanan be hobbled by the loss of the Janus high-yield support team? If Buchanan is looking weak a year from now, we would consider both of these questions answered, and we would sell. [8/03]
  
  Janus Short-Term Bond: Sandy Rufenacht leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (see Janus High-Yield above). Gibson Smith takes over for Rufenacht. Smith previously managed private investment-quality bond accounts for Janus, and also served as assistant manager on Janus Flexible Income. It appears that he will continue in both of these roles, along with his new assignment. [8/03]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate Large Cap Select Growth: William Chenoweth leaves (fired?) as manager, and leaves the firm, effective September 30. Between now and then, Chenoweth "will be transferring his...portfoio management responsibilities to the other members of the team." Hey, Nicholas-Applegate, thanks for the obvious and useless information. Also, Kenneth Lee is no longer a member of the management team, so at least we know that he won't be one of the transferees of Chenoweth's "responsibilities." [8/03]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate U.S. Equity Growth: See Nicholas-Applegate Large Cap Select Growth, above. [8/03]
  
  Oakmark Small Cap: Clyde McGregor steps down as co-manager, and Edward Studzinski takes his place, joining James Benson. [8/03]
  
  Oak Value: Co-manager George Brumley is killed in a vacation plane crash in Kenya, along with his wife, two children, and eight members of his extended family. David Carr, who was also Brumley's long-time friend, will run the fund solo. [8/03; Update at 9/03: Carr has been joined as manager by Larry Coats and Matthew Sauer, members of the fund's investment committee]
  
  PIMCO NACM Growth: The "NACM" stands for "Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management," so when William Chenoweth was relieved of his Nicholas-Applegate responsibilities (above), he also disappeared here. Stephen Ross had been listed as co-manager with three others: Chenoweth (gone), Kenneth Lee (also gone), and Thomas Smith (apparently gone), so Ross now gets to be solo manager by default. [8/03]
  
  Putnam OTC & Emerging Growth: Michael Mufson is removed as a member of the management team, and Daniel Miller takes his place. [8/03]
  
  Putnam Vista: Dana Clark is gone as a member of the management team. The firing of Clark -- who must have been awfully good -- brings the addition of three new team members (Justin Scott, Kevin Divney, and Paul Marrkand). [8/03]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Multi-Cap Growth: Co-manager Elizabeth Dater leaves subadvisor Credit Suisse, effective September 30. Dater's co-manager, Sammy Oh, will presumably take over her portion of the portfolio. The other two subadvisors (Janus and SunAmerica Asset Management) aren't affected. [8/03]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2003:
  
  American Century New Opportunities: Chrsitopher Boyd resigns as manager, and leaves the firm "to manage his family investment and real estate business." Harold Bradley replaces Boyd, and John Seitzer continues on the management team. [7/03]
  
  American Century New Opportunities II: See American Century New Opportunities, above. [7/03]
  
  American Century Select: Timothy Reynolds is reassigned as manager (he's now part of the team managing American Century Growth). Keith Lee, formerly a senior investment analysts, replaces Reynolds. John Sykora remains as lead manager. [7/03]
  
  American Century Technology: Christopher Boyd resigns as a member of this three-person team, and leaves the firm. Boyd's former co-managers, Tom Telford and Jeff Schuller, will carry on by themselves, at least for now. [7/03]
  
  Eaton Vance Small-Cap Growth: Edward Smiley leaves as manager, and Toni Shimura replaces him. [7/03]
  
  Eaton Vance Special Equities: See Eaton Vance Small-Cap Growth, above. [7/03]
  
  Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Small Cap Growth 1.1: See Eaton Vance Small-Cap Growth, above. [7/03]
  
  First American Large Cap Value: Former lead manager Brent Mellum is demoted, and "becomes an important member of the fund's management team." (Attention headhunters: Here's a guy who just might have a current resume available.) Matthew Finn, arriving from Advtanus, takes over. [7/03]
  
  First American Mid Cap Growth Opportunities: David Chalupnik steps down as interim manager, and David Lettenberger takes over. This fund's previous managers, Todd Krieg and Matthew D'Attilio, left the fund in April for another money management firm. [7/03]
  
  ING Equity and Bond: Thomas Jackson, Robert Kinsey and Edwin Schriver are removed as managers of this balanced fund. James Vail (equities) and James Kauffman (fixed income) take over. [Change effective April 21, 2003; posted 7/03]
  
  ING LargeCap Growth: ING gets rid of its own in-house management team, and Andrew Shilling, of Wellington Management Company, takes over. [7/03]
  
  ING Tax Efficient Equity: Thomas Jackson is removed as co-manager, and colleague James Vail now runs this fund solo. [Change effective April 21, 2003; posted 7/03]
  
  Liberty Young Investor: David Brady is removed as co-manager. Brady's former collegue, Erik Gustafson, will run this fund as part of a three-person team that includes Greg Miller and Michael Welhoelter. [7/03]
  
  Managers Capital Appreciation: Holt-Smith & Yates Advisors is fired as manager, and Elizabeth Bramwell, of Bramwell Capital Management, replaces them. [7/03]
  
  Vanguard Windsor: Steven Pisarkiewicz steps down as manager of the Bernstein portion of this fund, and John Phillips takes over. Marilyn Fedak "will continue to serve as a portfolio manager" of the Bernstein piece. [7/03]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2003:
  
  AIM Developing Markets: Michael Kerley and Christine Rowley are removed as lead managers. Clas G. Olsson and Barrett Sides take over. [6/03]
  
  AIM Premier Equity: Evan Harrel leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Robert Shelton is now running the show. [6/03]
  
  AIM Premier Equity II: Evan Harrel leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Robert Shelton continues as lead manager. [6/03]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Developing Communications: See Fidelity Select Developing Communications, below. [6/03]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Telecommunications and Utilities: See Fidelity Select Utilities Growth, below. [6/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Developing Communications: Shep Perkins is removed as manager, so that he can devote more time to his new fund, Fidelity OTC. Yun-Min Chai replaces Perkins. [6/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Utilities Growth: Shep Perkins leaves as manager, for Fidelity OTC. Brian Younger replaces Perkins. [6/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Wireless: See Fidelity Select Utilities Growth, above. [6/03]
  
  Genomics Fund: Steven Newby, the original manager of this fund (since March 2000), is jettisoned before he vaporizes all of the cash on hand. Robert Sullivan takes over. [6/03]
  
  Liberty Acorn: Ralph Wanger retires as manager. Charles McQuaid, Wanger's long-time co-manager, will now run the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Given a head-to-head choice between Wanger and McQuaid, we suspect that most investors would still pick Wanger. But that ain't going to happen and, as a second choice, McQuaid is about as good it gets these days. Unless you really have your eye on someone else, we would give McQuaid a chance to show what he can do. [6/03]
  
  Liberty Acorn International: Leah Zell retires as manager, and the team of Zach Egan and Louis Mendes takes over. FundAlarm comments: Zell is Ralph Wanger's wife, and since Wanger is retiring (see Liberty Acorn, above), Zell apparently feels that it's her time to go, too. Zell has a good long-term record at this fund, while Egan and Mendes are essentially unknown. If we owned this fund, and we hadn't paid a load to get in, we'd be looking for an alternative international small-cap offering, such as Vanguard International Explorer or T. Rowe Price International Discovery. But if you did pay a load, that means you work with a commission-based broker or financial planner, and that person isn't likely to show you either of these no-load funds. [6/03]
  
  Liberty Growth and Income: Scott Schermerhorn mysteriously disappears as manager, and we do not believe this bodes well for his employment status with the firm. Scott Davis and Gregory Miller take over for Schermerhorn. Davis and Miller currently co-manage Liberty Strategic Equity, while Miller runs Liberty Large Cap Core. Both of these assignments will continue. [6/03; thanks to Morris Mayerfield, CFP, Lakewood, New Jersey, for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Liberty Tax-Managed Value: See Liberty Growth and Income, above (first listing). [6/03]
  
  Needham Growth: Peter Trapp resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Vince Gallagher and Jim Kloppenburg replace Trapp. FundAlarm comments: Trapp was in charge of this fund since January 1998, and it always looked like a hedge fund, with one big difference: Manager compensation. There was no way Trapp could make hedge-fund bucks at a mutual fund, even a good one like this, so the Call of the Wallet was heard and heeded. New managers Gallagher and Kloppenburg have picked up this fund assignment by default, since they're the only other managers at this small firm (Gallagher currently runs Needham Small Cap, and Kloppenburg runs Needham Aggressive Growth, and both will keep these responsibilities). Gallagher and Kloppenburg are essentially untested at their own funds, let alone this one, and they have to be considered a big question mark. If we owned this fund, and we could sell without a big tax hit, we'd be looking for an alternative. [6/03]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2003:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Fifty: See Fidelity Fifty, below. [5/03]
  
  Fidelity Fifty: Fergus Shiel resigns as manager and leaves the firm to "pursue another business opportunity" (today's preferred term for "hedge fund"). Jason Weiner, formerly of Fidelity OTC, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Fidelity continues to be incapable of retaining its senior managers but, hey, if it doesn't bother them enough to figure out a way to stop it, we don't care, either. Weiner is a reasonably talented manager, with almost as much experience as Shiel, so he should be an acceptable replacement until he decides to pursue another opportunity, which he probably will, soon. [5/03]
  
  Fidelity Independence: Fergus Shiel resigns as manager and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Jason Weiner takes over. FundAlarm comments: See Fidelity Fifty, above. [5/03]
  
  Fidelity OTC: Jason Weiner leaves as manager, to take charge of Fidelity Fifity (above). Shep Perkins takes over for Weiner and (at least for the time being) keeps his other Fidelity fund responsibilities: Advisor Telecom and Utilities Growth, Advisor Developing Communications, Select Developing Communications, and Select Utilities. He's a busy guy. [5/03]
  
  ING Growth & Value: Navellier Fund Management is fired as manager, and the team of Matthew Price and David Campbell takes over. [5/03]
  
  ING Growth Opportunities: Mary Lisanti and Jeff Bernstein are removed as managers. Lisanti, whose star has steadily dimmed at ING Pilgrim, is "seeking opportunities outside the firm," and Jeff Bernstein is doing likewise. Matthew Price and David Campbell take over. [5/03]
  
  ING MagnaCap: Thomas Jackson is removed as manager, and William Coughlin takes over. [5/03]
  
  ING Mid Cap Opportunities: See ING Growth Opportunities, above. [5/03]
  
  ING Small Cap Opportunities: See ING Growth Opportunities, above. [5/03]
  
  ING Worldwide Growth: Mary Lisanti gets the boot as manager of this fund's U.S. equity portfolio, and James Vail replaces her. Richard Saler and Philip Schwartz continue as the other co-managers. [5/03]
  
  Janus Adviser International: See Janus Overseas, below. [5/03]
  
  Janus Adviser Worldwide: See Janus Worldwide, below. [5/03]
  
  Janus Aspen International Growth: See Janus Overseas, below. [5/03]
  
  Janus Aspen Worldwide Growth: See Janus Worldwide, below. [5/03]
  
  Janus Overseas: Helen Young Hayes retires as lead manager, and leaves the asset management business (at least until she decides to return to it). Co-manager Brent Lynn takes over, assisted by analyst Garth Yettick. FundAlarm comments: Many thanks to Ms. Hayes, because she's helped clear up a question that's been puzzling us for some time: Is Janus crumbling? Now, we know the answer is "yes." Hayes is a huge loss for Janus, in part because she was such a huge symbol: As a connection to the rip-roaring Janus past, as a figure of stability and continuity for the firm, and as an accomplished woman in an extremely tough business for women. If there was any possible way that Janus could have kept Hayes, you know they would have, which suggests that Hayes desperately wanted out. And that raises the toughest question of all: Why did she want out so badly? In situations like this, it's been our experience that people leave because they lose hope in the future. Janus can talk all it wants about "lifestyle" considerations, we think Hayes ultimately left because she felt that the future at Janus would be worse than the past, both for her stock portfolios and for the firm. [5/03]
  
  Janus Worldwide: Helen Young Hayes retires as manager. Laurence Chang takes over, assisted by Doug Kirkpatrick. FundAlarm comments: See Janus Overseas, above. [5/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Quest Global: Richard Glasebrook leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for Neuberger Berman, where he will become a portfolio manager with the "Straus Group," which is presumably supposed to mean something to us. Colin Glinsman takes over for Glasebrook, with Elisa Mazen continuing as co-manager. [5/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Quest Opportunity Value: Richard Glasebrook leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's replaced by Frank LeCates. [5/03]
  
  T. Rowe Price Value: Brian Rogers leaves as manager, to concentrate on his other fund, T. Rowe Price Equity Income. John Linehan takes over. Linehan joined TRP in 1998, and he has worked with Rogers running large-cap value portfolios for institutional clients. Linehan also served on the investment advisory committee of this fund, which is a proving ground for managerial talent, and a forum for analysts and managers to exchange ideas. Linehan is likely to make several changes to this fund: Increase average market cap, increase portfolio quality, trim the size of the average position, reduce portfolio tunrnover to half of its current level, and invest more in non-U.S. stocks.* [5/03]
  * "Switch hitters," Jonathan Burton, cbs.marketwatch.com, April 1, 2003
  
  
• Originally posted April 2003:
  
  1st Source Special Equity: Brian Bythrow leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (he has joined the Wasatch fund family). No word on Bythrow's replacement, though a tipster tells FundAlarm that an "active search" is being conducted. [4/03]
  
  AIM funds (many): If AIM keeps shuffling managers, it many become the first fund company that needs to give out an erasable management scorecard. Here are the latest changes at this dynamic (for the wrong reasons) fund family:
  
  

  AIM fund	Old management team (departures in red)	New management team (additions in green)
  Changes effective March 1, 2003:
  Emerging Growth	Jay Rushin, Robert Kippes	Karl Farmer, Jay Rushin
  Global Growth	Monika Deegan, Clas Olsson, Barrett Sides	Kirk Anderson, Clas Olsson, Barrett Sides
  Changes effective May 1, 2003:
  Aggressive Growth	Ryan Crane, Robert Kippes, Jay Rushin	Karl Farmer, Robert Kippes, Jay Rushin
  Blue Chip	Jonathan Schoolar, Monika Degan	Kirk Anderson, Monika Deegan
  Charter	Michael Yellin, Ronald Sloan	David Pointer, Ronald Sloan
  Constellation	Kenneth Zschappel, Robert Kippes	Christian Costanzo, Robert Lloyd, Kenneth Zschappel
  Mid Cap Growth	Jay Rushin, Kenneth Zschappel, Robert Kippes, Ryan Crane	Karl Farmer, Jay Rushin
  Note: The following AIM funds are receiving new managers (names in parentheses), but no current manager is being replaced: Global Income (Scot Johnson), Large Cap Basic Value (Robert Cannon Coleman II), International Growth (Shuxin Cao), and Weingarten (James Birdsall).
  [4/03]

  
  
  BlackRock Balanced: R. Andrew Damm is removed as manager of this fund's equity portfolio. He's replaced by a team of computer-driven stock pickers, David Byrket and Frederick Hermann (remember these names, they will appear again). [4/03]
  
  BlackRock Large Cap Growth: "BlackRock" rhymes with "ChoppingBlock" (sort of), and that's appropriate, since all of this fund's managers have been relieved of duty (Chris Kaufman, Gemma Ivol, Paul Sloate and John Chambers). Replacing them are new managers David Byrket and Frederick Hermann. [4/03]
  
  BlackRock Large Cap Value: Co-managers Matthew Considine and Steven Ralston are gone. They are replaced by (guess who?) David Byrket and Frederick Hermann. [4/03]
  
  BlackRock Select Equity: Robert Kapito and R. Andrew Damm are removed as co-managers. They are replaced by (surprise!) David Byrket and Frederick Hermann. [4/03]
  
  Citizens Emerging Growth: Thomas Coler leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Jeffrey Schappe remains as lead manager. [4/03]
  
  Citizens Small Cap Core Growth: See Citizens Emerging Growth, above. [4/03]
  
  Dreyfus International Equity: A. Edward Allinson is removed as manager, and the team of Remi Browne and Daniel LeVan replaces him. [4/03]
  
  Dreyfus Worldwide Growth: A. Edward Allinson is removed as manager of this fund's foreign portfolio. Remi Browne and Daniel LeVan take over, while John Jares continues as manager of the fund's domestic portfolio. [4/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Environmental: It wouldn't be a new month without at least one change at a Fidelity Select fund. In this case, Robert Bao leaves as manager, and Jed Weiss takes over. [4/03]
  
  Fremont Large Cap Value: Fremont fires itself as manager, and hires Alliance Capital Management. [4/03]
  
  Northern Institutional Mid Cap Growth: See Northern Mid Cap Growth, below. [4/03]
  
  Northern Mid Cap Growth: Tracy McCormick leaves as co-manager, after about two months on the job. A tipster tells FundAlarm that McCormick has been replaced by someone with "zero years of portfolio manager experience," but the Northern Web site still lists McCormick's former colleague, Andrew Flynn, as the fund's sole manager. FundAlarm comments: McCormick got her job in December 2002, after four Northern portfolio managers were hired by Neuberger Berman, and Northern needed to fill some managerial vacancies, fast. Her departure suggests that all is not tranquil at Northern. Also: We're not sure exactly when this manager change took place, but it seems to have been in late February. As of March 23, Northern had updated its Web site to reflect McCormick's departure, but it still hadn't updated its prospectus. Hey, guys, isn't a month enough time to file some paperwork with the SEC? It's kind of the law, you know. [4/03]
  
  PIMCO PEA Opportunity: Michael Gaffney is removed as manager. He's replaced by the team of Jamie Michaelson and Michael Corelli. [4/03]
  
  Putnam International New Opportunities: Nathan Eigerman and Peter Hadden leave this three-person management team. Lead manager Stephen Dexter remains, now joined by Denise Selden. [4/03]
  
  Putnam Vista: Margery Parker gets the axe, the latest victim of Putnam's staff-cutting. Parker's three team members will continue. [4/03]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Technology: Van Wagoner Capital Management is fired as one of this fund's two subadvisors (Dresdner RCM Global Funds is the other subadvisor, and it remains). An in-house team from SunAmerica takes over for Van Wagoner until a replacement can be found, suggesting that SunAmerica couldn't fire Van Wagoner fast enough. [4/03]
  
  Vantagepoint Aggressive Opportunities: Roxbury Capital Management is fired as subadvisor, and T. Rowe Price (John Laporte) takes over. This fund is run by three subadvisors, and the other two subadvisors were replaced in August 2002. Now, with the departure of Roxbury, this is essentially a new fund. [4/03]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2003:
  
  Artisan International Small Cap: Linda Ba leaves this five-person management team, led by Mark Yockey, and she also leaves the firm (for Nicholas-Applegate). [3/03]
  
  Columbia Utilities: Scott Schermerhorn leaves as co-manager. Edward Paik, Schermerhorn's co-manager, is now in charge. [change effective 1/03; posted 3/03]
  
  Enterprise Growth and Income: James Coughlin retires as lead manager. Coughlin worked for RSI (Retirement Systems Investors), this fund's subadvisor, and Coughlin is replaced by his former co-manager, Michele Ward. Martin Cunningham joins Ward to make it a team of two. [3/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Food and Agriculture: Gail Lese (M.D.!) is replaced as manager, by Valerie Friedholm. [3/03; Update @ 9/04: In a letter dated August 9, 2004, Fidelity says that this change occurred because Lese was "promoted to assume new responsibilities."]
  
  Fidelity Select Gold: Niel Marotta leaves as manager, and Daniel Dupont takes over. [3/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Networking and Infrastructure: Christopher Bartel lasts about 12 months as manager, which is considerably longer than the 30 days his precedessor lasted. Way to go, Chris! Replacing Bartel is Matthew Cheyney. [3/03]
  
  Gabelli Westwood Small Cap Equity: Manager Lynda Calkin gets the boot, and co-manager C.J. McDonald takes over. McDonald will be assisted by Thomas Coler. [3/03]
  
  Hancock Balanced: John Snyder III and Steve Paspal are removed as co-managers. Barry Evans remains, joined by new co-manager Roger Hamilton. [3/03]
  
  HSBC Investor Small Cap Equity: MFS Institutional Advisors is fired as manager (subadvisor), and Westfield Capital Management takes over. [change effective 1/03; posted 3/03]
  
  Janus Mercury: Warren Lammert resigns as manager, and leaves the firm, the first Janus fund manager to defect since Jim Craig left in December, 1999. Lammert is officially leaving to "pursue investment-related opportunities outside the mutual fund industry" (dare we guess hedge fund?), and to devote time to epilepsy-related causes. David Corkins takes over, and Corkins will continue to run Janus Growth and Income. FundAlarm comments: Investors in this fund should not be sorry to Lammert go, because Lammert was a lousy manager. How lousy? He was in charge Janus Mercury from its inception, in May 1993, and there were only three full years (out of nine) when Lammert managed to beat the S&P 500: 1994, 1998, and 1999 (the latter two, as you will recall, were the same years that Raven the dart-throwing monkey was also at the top of her game). Here's another, more recent perspective on Lammert's futility: On January 1, 1998, let's say you invested $10,000 each in Janus Mercury and Vanguard Balanced Index fund. Five years later, on December 31, 2002 you would have had only about $460 more in your Janus Mercury account ($11,970 vs. $11,510). In other words, over the past half-decade, Lammert was essentially even with a fund that never held more than about 60% stocks -- and remember, this period includes Lammert's hottest two years, 1998 and 1999. New manager Corkins has done a respectable job at Janus Growth & Income since he took over in August 1997. Corkins never hit the highs of the other Janus managers, but he's also avoided the lows, and in the long run that's the definition of a good money manager. If we owned this fund -- not really conceivable, but let's play along -- we'd give Corkins a chance. One major caveat: If Corkins tries a more aggressive approach at this fund, and Janus has hinted that's what's coming, then all bets would be off. [3/03]
  
  Lazard International Small Cap Institutional: William von Mueffling leaves as a member of this three-person team, and leaves the firm, after about 15 months on the job. Brian Pessin replaces von Mueffling. The remaining (and continuing) members of the team, Herbert Gullquist and John Reinsberg, have been with this fund since its inception in December 1993. [3/03]
  
  Marsico 21st Century: Jim Hillary leaves as manager, and Corydon Gilchrist takes over. Hillary is joining firm founder Tom Marsico as co-manager of Marsico Focus and Marsico Growth. According to a notice posted on the Marsico Web site, this move is a "long-planned evolution" for the Marsico firm, and it's Hillary's reward for completing "three years of distinguished service" as manager of Marsico 21st Century. FundAlarm comments: What an utterly bizarre announcement. Guess we're supposed to imply that shareholders of Marsico 21st Century don't deserve a distinguished manager, and that the only viable career path at the Marsico firm is to put in some time at a lesser fund (like this one) before you're promoted to work at the feet of Master Tom. If we owned this fund, we'd feel slighted, insulted, and just a bit angry. One more thing: The repeated assurances on the Marsico Web site, to the effect that Tom Marsico is not going anywhere, make us suspect that Master Tom does, indeed, plan to spend less time with his funds, and turn more of the work over to acolyte Hillary. [3/03]
  
  Oppenheimer Discovery : Jayne Stevlingson leaves as manager, and Laura Granger takes over. FundAlarm comments: This fund has been stuck smack in the middle of the small-growth pack ever since Stevlingson took over. New manager Granger's most recent (and perhaps only) fund experience has been her short and scary stint as manager of Oppenheimer Emerging Growth and Oppenheimer Emerging Technology. Stevlingson was no prize, but Granger inspires even less confidence. [3/03]
  
  RSI Retirement Core Equity: James Coughlin retires as lead manager, and Michele Ward takes over. [3/03]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2003:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Electronics: Manager Praveen Abichandani gets spun around in the revolving door, and ends up out as manager of this fund and in charge of several new ones (see below). New manager Samuel Peters adds this fund to his list, along with Fidelity Select Electronics. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Latin America: See Fidelity Latin America, below. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Europe: Thierry Serero is removed as manager, and David Baverez is now in charge. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Latin America: Margaret Reynolds is removed as manager, and Claudio Brocado takes over. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Automotive: Kelly Cardwell gives up the manager's chair here, and he will take a shot at Select Software and Computer Services (below). Robert Bao takes over from Cardwell. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy: See Fidelity Select Natural Resources, below. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Industrial Equipment: Ted Orenstein gets the boot as manager, and Christopher Bartel gets to play manager for a while. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Resources: John Porter III leaves as manager, and Pratima Abichandani replaces him. [2/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Software and Computer Services: Christian Zann is out as manager, and Kelly Cardwell is in. [2/03]
  
  Ivy funds, pruning the: Waddell & Reed acquired the Ivy funds late last year and, lo and behold, early this year a number of Ivy fund managers find themselves out of a job, replaced by W&R managers. Here's the complete list of Ivy funds where some replanting has been done:
  
  

  Ivy fund	Old manager	New manager	New manager's other responsibilities
  Bond	Richard Gluck	James Cusser	Waddell & Reed Advisors Bond; Waddell & Reed Advisors Government Securities
  International	Moira McLachlan	Thomas Mengel	W&R International Growth; Waddell & Reed Advisors International Growth
  International Growth	Moira McLachlan	Thomas Mengel	W&R International Growth; Waddell & Reed Advisors International Growth
  International Value	Moira McLachlan	Thomas Mengel	W&R International Growth; Waddell & Reed Advisors International Growth
  Pacific Opportunities	Moira McLachlan	Thomas Mengel	W&R International Growth; Waddell & Reed Advisors International Growth
  [2/03]

  
  Marshall Large-Cap Growth & Income: William J. O'Connor leaves as manager, and Mary Linehan takes over. [2/03]
  
  Neuberger Berman Guardian: We missed this one last month: The low-wattage managerial team of Rick White and Kevin Risen is gone, replaced by Arthur Moretti. FundAlarm comments: I have a sentimental attachment to this fund, since FundAlarm might not exist without it. I first bought this fund in the early 1990s, and it was the lousy performance of this fund, in mid-1996, that got me wondering what was going on, and whether it was time to sell. Then I realized how little information was specifically designed to help investors make the mutual fund "sell" decision, and I thought I could have a relaxing little hobby by designing a Web site around that idea. Not quite. In any event, this fund is still underperforming. New manager Moretti has limited experience, most recently as manager of Neuberger Berman Socially Responsive, and there's no particular reason to believe that he'll be able to turn this offering around. If we still owned this fund, we'd still sell it -- just as we did, finally, in January 1998. [2/03]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2003:
  
  Federated American Leaders: Michael Donnelly leaves as one-half of this two-person management team, and colleague Kevin McCloskey will now run this fund solo. [1/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Computers: Christian Zann is removed as manager, and Sonu Kalra takes over. [1/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Consumer Industries: Larry Gee gets the boot, and Christian Zann (formerly of Select Computers) takes over. [1/03]
  
  Fidelity Select Retailing: Brian Hanson rotates out the door, and Adam Segel will run things for a while. [1/03]
  
  Fremont U.S. Small Cap: Kern Capital Management is fired as outside manager (subadvisor), and TimesSquare Capital Management takes over. [1/03]
  
  Mason Street Growth and Income: Outside manager J.P. Morgan Investment Management is fired, and an in-house manager (Cindy Jackson) takes over. Effective January 31, 2003, the name of this fund will be changed to Mason Street Large Cap Core Stock. [1/03]
  
  Mason Street Growth Stock: Julie Van Cleave leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. She's replaced by the team of David Keuler and Michael Johnson. [1/03]
  
  Maxim index funds (several): Barclays Global Fund Advisors is resigning as manager of several Maxim index funds, effective "in the first quarter of 2003." Maxim is still looking for a replacement. The Maxim funds affected by this change are: Stock Index, Index European, Index Pacific, Value Index, Growth Index, Index 600 and and Index 400. [1/03]
  
  Morgan Stanley Special Value: Jenny Jones, last heard singing "To Dream the Impossible Dream," leaves to fill the enormous shoes of Ira Unschuld at Schroder Ultra and Schroder U.S. Opportunity. Richard Glass takes over for Jones. [1/03]
  
  Neuberger Berman Century: Brooke Cobb is gone as manager. Jon Brorson, from the Northern Trust fund family, takes over as lead manager. Brorson is assisted by John Zielinski and Kenneth Turek, who also came over from Northern Trust in a package deal. [1/03]
  
  Neuberger Berman Manhattan: Jennifer Silver and Brooke Cobb are removed as co-managers, and poor performance seems to be the reason. Jon Brorson, from the Northern Trust fund family, takes over as lead manager, assisted by Kenneth Turek, who also came over from Northern Trust. [1/03]
  
  Neuberger Berman Millennium: Michael Malouf and Richard Jodka are gone as co-managers. Jon Brorson, from the Northern Trust fund family, takes over as lead manager. Brorson is assisted by David Burshtan, who also used to call Northern Trust home. [1/03]
  
  Northern Trust (several funds): Neuberger Berman fired its growth fund team (above), and Neuberger immediately hired four Northern Trust growth-fund managers as replacements. That means Northern needs to do some juggling, as follows:
  
  

  Northern fund	Old manager/team	New manager/team
  Retail:
  Global Telecommunications	Kenneth Turek	John Leo
  Growth Equity	Jon Brorson/John Zielinski	John Leo/Robert Mitchell
  Growth Opportunities	David Burshtan	Theodore Breckel
  Mid Cap Growth	Kenneth Turek	Tracy McCormick/Andrew Flynn
  Small Cap Growth	David Burshtan	Theodore Breckel
  Institutional:
  Balanced	John Zielinski/Eric Bergson	Colin Robertson/Robert Mitchell
  Diversified Growth	Jon Brorson/John Zielinski	John Leo/Robert Mitchell
  Focused Growth	Jon Brorson/Kenneth Turek	Robert Streed
  Mid Cap Growth	Kenneth Turek	Tracy McCormick/Andrew Flynn
  Small Company Growth	David Burshtan	Theodore Breckel
  [1/03]

  
  Schroder U.S. Opportunity: See Schroder Ultra, above. This fund was considerably more earthbound than Schroder Ultra, but it's still a star. New manager Jones is unlikely to duplicate Unschuld's performance. [1/03]
  
  Smith Barney Large Cap Value: Gir Bogavelli and Steven Craige are removed as managers. John Cunningham takes over. [1/03]
  
  Smith Barney Peachtree Growth: Dennis Johnson is removed as manager, and Alan Blake takes over. Blake continues as manager of Smith Barney Large Cap Growth, where he has done an excellent job. [1/03]
  
  Van Kampen Small Cap Value: This fund was co-managed by Jenny Jones and Richard Glass, of Morgan Stanley, and Jenny Jones has skipped town to manage a couple of Schroder funds. Presumably, Jones is no longer managing this fund, and Glass will now run it solo. [1/03]
  
  Weitz Hickory: Rick Lawson leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Wally Weitz takes over. FundAlarm comments: By virtue of our name, we'd like to claim some special insight into all actions by people named "Weitz." Alas, we have none. Still, this looks like a firing to us, or at least one of those situations where the firee knows it's coming, and gracefully decides to pursue other opportunities just ahead of the falling axe. The Weitz funds in general have had an ugly year, and since Wally can't fire himself, firing Lawson may be the only other way to show shareholders that he feels their pain. With Wally at the helm, this fund will probably improve slightly, but what the Weitz funds really need is an end to the current cold streak. If the Weitz funds can't pull out of their slide in the next twelve to eighteen months, it won't matter who's running this thing. We'd bet on Wally, but not indefinitely. [1/03]
  
  William Blair Income: The management team of James Kaplan and Bentley Myer becomes the management team of James Kaplan and Christopher Vincent. [1/03]
  
  William Blair Value Discovery: Glen Kleczka leaves as lead manager. Kleczka's co-managers, Dave Mitchell and Capucine Price, will continue without him. [1/03; thanks to FundAlarm reader Darius Fatemi for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2002:
  
  AIM Asia Pacific Growth: Dale Griffin III retires as a member of this three-person management team, effective December 31, 2002. He will not be replaced, at least for the time being. [12/02]
  
  AIM Global Science and Technology: David Barnard retires as co-manager, effective January 31, 2003. He will not be replaced, at least for the time being. [12/02]
  
  AIM International Growth: Dale Griffin III retires as a member of this four-person management team, effective December 31, 2002. He will not be replaced, at least for the time being. [12/02]
  
  AIM New Technology: David Barnard retires as a member of this three-person management team, effective January 31, 2003. He will not be replaced, at least for the time being. [12/02]
  
  AIM Select Equity: Polly Ahrendts retires as lead manager, effective January 31, 2003. Somebody will lead this fund in her absence, but AIM isn't talking. For now, all AIM will say is that "members of the existing fund management team will assume her responsibilities." [12/02]
  
  AIM Summit: See AIM Global Science and Technology, above. [12/02]
  
  AllianceBernstein Small Cap Value: Andrew Moloff leaves as lead managers, and apparently leaves the firm. Joseph Paul is now in charge. [12/02]
  
  Citizens Value: Outside manager (subadvisor) Shelley Meyers is fired, for poor performance. This fund will now be managed in-house. [12/02]
  
  Davis International Total Return: Fidcuiary Trust Company is fired as subadvisor, and Marcstone Capital Management takes over. [12/02]
  
  Eaton Vance Tax-Managed International Growth: Armin Lang resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. Kiersten Christensen takes over. [12/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Dynamic Capital Appreciation: Fergus Shiel is removed as manager, and John Porter III takes over. And here's something to look forward to: Porter currently manages Fidelity Advisor Natural Resources and two Fidelity Select funds (Energy, Natural Resources). He'll be replaced at all three funds but, as of November 29, Fido still hadn't named the new managers. [12/02]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive Growth: Robert Bertelsen is removed as manager, and Rajiv Kaul replaces him. FundAlarm comments: Pity poor Bob Bertelsen (not really, but we're asking you to play along). In February 2000, he inherited this fund from shooting star Erin Sullivan (who, apparently, has had her own difficulties in the hedge fund world). At the time Bertelsen took over, this fund had about $22 billion in assets. Now, through a combination of poor performance and fleeing investors, it's down to about $4 billion, and it's unlikely that Bertelsen will ever again have the opportunity to lose $18 billion of investment assets for any employer. Beginning in February 2000, nobody (including Sullivan) could have duplicated Sullivan's previous performance at this fund, but Bertelsen seemed particularly inept and ill-suited to the job. Kaul has posted some decent numbers at tiny Fidelity Advisor Agressive Growth since taking over in June 2001. You might say that Kaul has (a) shown skill in navigating a brutal bear market, or (b) that he's lucky and essentially untested as the manager of a huge fund. We come down in favor of choice (b), especially the "untested" part. But there's a good chance that Kaul will at least be a short-term improvement over Bertelsen, since he could hardly be worse. [12/02]
  
  Fidelity Canada: Stephen Binder is removed as manager, and Maxime Lemieux replaces him. [12/02]
  
  Galaxy Small Company Equity (now Liberty Small Company Equity): Steven Barbaro leaves as manager, and William Garrison takes over. [12/02]
  
  Seligman Global Smaller Companies: Henderson Investment Management is fired as co-manager (subadvisor), and Seligman's own "Global Investment Group" will now handle this fund's non-US investments. It appears that the fund's other co-manager, Seligman's Small Company Growth Team (Rick Ruvkun) remains on board as the manager of the domestic portfolio. [12/02]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2002:
  
  American Century Select: Wade Slome, who was sent to this fund just a couple of months ago, is dispatched again, this time to American Century Ultra. John Sykora takes over as lead manager, and he's coming from Ultra, where Slome is going. Got it? [11/02]
  
  American Century Ultra: John Sykora leaves as co-manager. He's headed for American Century Select, where he will take over as lead manager. [11/02]
  
  Ariel Appreciation: Eric McKissack resigns as manager, and leaves the firm, reportedly for personal reasons. John Rogers takes over. FundAlarm comments: McKissack compiled a terrific long-term record as manager of this fund. According to Morningstar.com, new manager Rogers (who also founded the firm and runs the flagship Ariel Fund) promises shareholders a "seamless transition." Maybe yes, maybe no. Rogers is quite capable in his own right, as a small-cap manager, but the fact that Rogers "recruited" McKissack and "mentored" him 15+ years ago has no bearing on Rogers' ability to pick up McKissack's concentrated mid-cap portfolio and run with it. This is far from a scary manager change, but it's also not the no-brainer that Rogers would have you believe it is. [11/02]
  
  Diversified Inv Special Equity: Husic Capital Management is fired as one of this fund's five managers (subadvisors), and Seneca Capital Management takes over Husic's portion of the portfolio (roughly 20%). [11/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Japan: William Kennedy is removed as manager, and June-Yon Kim takes over. [11/02]
  
  Fidelity Four-In-One Index: Jennifer Farrelly is removed as manager, and William Eigen replaces her. Eigen continues as lead manager of Fidelity Strategic Income. [11/02]
  
  Fidelity Pacific Basin: See Fidelity Advisor Japan, above. [11/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Gas: Douglas Nigen heads out the revolving door, and Naved Khan lands in the manager's chair for a while. [11/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Technology: Elise Baum is removed as manager, and she goes back to doing what she should have been doing all along: Running her small- and mid-cap value funds. David Poiesz, who co-founded a "technology-oriented private investment partnership" in 1999 (what a concept!) joins Merrill Lynch and takes over for Baum. FundAlarm comments: We were dubious when Baum took over this fund at the beginning of 2002. At the time, we imagined the following dialogue between two Merrill Lynch fund executives:

  "Hey, Joe, who do we have left to run this fund?" "How about Elise Baum?" "But she's a mid-cap value manager." "You asked me who we had left." "Can a value manager even pick tech stocks?" "We'll find out, won't we?"

  
  Well, the verdict is finally in, and those executives (as well as fund shareholders, a.k.a, guinea pigs) have discovered that Elise Baum can't run a tech fund after all. Maybe the SEC should adopt a rule that prohibits mutual fund companies from practicing on live subjects. Of course, that would put the Fidelity Select funds out of business, so it probably won't happen. [11/02]
  
  MFS Capital Opportunities: Maura Shaughnessy is removed as manager, although she's still with the firm, and still managing MFS Utilities. A FundAlarm reader has suggested that this change was made following Shaughnessy's return from maternity leave, but we were unable to confirm that. S. Irfan Ali and Kenneth Enright now lead the team that manages this fund. [11/02]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate (several funds): As part of a massive "right-sizing" massacre, Nicholas-Applegate has fired ten members of its "Portfolio Teams." In all cases, it appears that the departing managers will not be replaced, and the existing co-managers will continue. The following table indicates the funds affected and the managers fired:
  
  

  Nicholas-Applegate fund	Manager(s) fired
  Emerging Countries	Ernesto Ramos, Jessica Occhialini
  Emerging Growth	Thomas Bleakley
  Global Health Care	Trisha Schuster, Peter Moon (fund is merging out of existence, so don't sweat this one)
  Global Select	Randall Kahn, Ernesto Ramos
  Global Technology	Thomas Bleakley (fund is merging out of existence, so don't sweat this one)
  Growth Discovery	Thomas Bleakley
  International Core Growth	Randall Kahn, Ernesto Ramos, David Fujisaki, Rolf Schild
  International Growth Opportunities	Randall Kahn, Ernesto Ramos, David Fujisaki, Rolf Schild
  International Structured	Ernesto Ramos
  U.S. Equity Growth	Andrew Gallagher, Michael Carroll, Trisha Schuster
  U.S. Large Cap Select Growth	Andrew Gallagher, Michael Carroll, Trisha Schuster
  Worldwide Growth	Andrew Gallagher, Randall Kahn, Ernesto Ramos

  [11/02]
  
  SEI International Fixed Income: Strategic Fixed Income is fired as manager (subadvisor), and Fischer Francis Trees & Watts takes over. [11/02]
  
  State St. Research Mid Cap Growth: Catherine Dudley leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Eileen Leary takes over. FundAlarm comments: Since the mid-1990s, managers of this fund haven't lasted long, and they haven't done a very good job. So the question of the day is: Does State Street even have the resources to run a successful mid-cap growth fund? From the evidence, it appears not, and there's no reason to believe that Leary (who has come up through the ranks) will fare any better. [11/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price Financial Services: Anna Dopkin leaves as lead manager. She's headed for the top spot at T. Rowe Price Growth & Income. [11/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price Growth & Income: Robert Sharps get booted as lead manager, and Anna Dopkin (from T. Rowe Price Financial Services) takes over. Sharps stays on as a member of this fund's investment advisory committee. [11/02]
  
  Vanguard Balanced Index: Ken Volpert leaves as manager of the bond portion of this fund, and Christopher Alwine replaces him. [11/02]
  
  Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index: Ken Volpert leaves as manager, and Christopher Alwine replaces him. [11/02]
  
  Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index: See Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index, above. [11/02]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2002:
  
  Diamond Hill Large Cap: Roderick Dillon and Christopher Bingamon are removed as managers, to make room for Charles Bath (who joins the firm from Gartmore).[10/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Air Transportation: Matthew Fruhan leaves as manager (for Fidelity Select Cyclical Industries). Heather Lawrence takes over. [10/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Construction and Housing: Valerie Friedholm is removed as manager, after an eight-month tenure. Robert Bao will warm the manager's chair for a while. [10/02]
  
  Gartmore Nationwide Leaders: Charles Bath leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (for Diamond Hill Investment Group). Simon Melluish takes over. [10/02]
  
  Gartmore Total Return: Charles Bath leaves as manager, and leaves the firm (for Diamond Hill Investment Group). Simon Melluish joins William Miller, who has been co-manager since September 2000. [10/02]
  
  Hancock Bond: James Ho leaves as manager. Co-manager Benjamin Matthews remains, joined by Barry Evans and Howard Greene. [10/02]
  
  Mainstay Research Value: John A. Levin & Co. is fired as subadvisor. It is replaced by Mercury Adviors, an affiliate of Merrill Lynch. D. Tysen Nutt, Jr., of Mercury, will handle the day-to-day responsibilities. [10/02]
  
  Managers Intermediate Bond: Metropolitan West Capital Management is fired as subadvisor, after less than a year on the job. Daniel Fuss, of Loomis, Sayles is now in charge. [10/02]
  
  Managers Special Equity: Goldman Sachs Asset Management is fired as one of this fund's five subadvisors, and Donald Smith & Co. takes over. [10/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Allocation: Bryan Ison steps down as manager for health reasons. Dennis Stattman takes over. FundAlarm comments: It's interesting how history can be rewritten when you have a reason to do so. In the last prospectus issued before Ison's departure (February 14, 2002), Stattman is described as "a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2000 and a portfolio manager with [Merrill Lynch] since 1989." In the revised prospectus (September 5, 2002), following Ison's departure, Stattman gets a subtle but important promotion: "Mr. Stattman has been a senior portfolio manager of the Fund since 2000 and the associate portfolio manager of the Fund since 1989." Amazing, isn't it? In February, when Merrill Lynch didn't need to stress management continuity, Stattman seemed to join the fund in 2000. Now, when management continuity is needed, Merrill discovers that Stattman has been with the fund since way back in 1989. [10/02]
  
  PIMCO High Yield: Ten-year veteran Benjamin Trosky resigns as lead manager. Co-manager Raymond Kennedy, who joined the fund in April 2002, will now run it solo. [10/02]
  
  Putnam International Growth & Income: Colin Moore leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm (for cross-town Fleet Boston). The management team is now lead by George Stairs. [10/02]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2002:
  
  American Century Growth: Kim Goodwin leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. She's headed for the top investment job at State Street Research. Goodwin's former co-managers, Gregory Woodhams and Prescott LeGard, will now run this fund. [9/02]
  
  Evergreen Masters: Putnam is fired as one of three subadvisors, and Marsico Capital Management takes over. Oppenheimer and MFS remain as the other subadvisors. [9/02]
  
  Galaxy Asset Allocation: Donald Jones is removed as manager, and Harvey Hirschhorn replaces him. [Change effective 7/15/02; posted 9/02]
  
  MFS Managed Sectors: Tony Shimura is removed as manager. He's replaced by a large-cap growth team that consists of Stephen Pesek, S. Irfan Ali, John Lathrop and Margaret Adams, who will "coordinate" the overall investment process of the portfolio. [9/02]
  
  MFS Mass Investors Trust: A four-person team becomes a two-person team: Mitchell Dynan and Liehar Moy are removed as co-managers, and John Laupheimer/Brooks Taylor remain. [9/02]
  
  Putnam Growth Opportunities: Jeff Lindsey leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for State Street Research. Richard England, the other co-manager, also disappears from this fund's manager listing, and we're not sure what happened to him. Putnam now lists Brian O'Toole as lead manager. [9/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price New America Growth: Joseph Milano takes over for Robert Smith, who himself took over just this spring. Smith was apparently intended all along as an interim replacement. [9/02]
  
  Vantagepoint Aggressive Opportunities: TCW and MFS are fired as two of this fund's three subadvisors, and Wellington and Southeastern Asset Management take over. It's interesting to note that Southeastern, which manages the Longleaf funds and is generally associated with domestic equity portfolios, will run the "worldwide special situations" portion of this fund's portfolio. [9/02]
  
  Vantagepoint Growth: TCW and Atlanta Capital are fired as subadvisors. Peregrine Capital Management takes over for TCW, and the assets formerly managed by Atlanta will be split between two existing subadvisors (Brown Capital Management and Tukman Capital Management). [9/02]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2002:
  
  American Century Small Cap Value: Todd Vingers leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm (we're told he's headed for The Lee Munder Capital Group). Ben Giele will now run this fund solo. [8/02]
  
  Atlas Balanced: OppenheimerFunds Inc. is fired as subadvisor, and Madison Investment Advisors Inc. is brought in as the replacement. [8/02]
  
  Atlas Strategic Growth: See Atlas Balanced, above. [8/02]
  
  RiverSource Strategy Aggressive: Lou Giglio leaves as manager, and Paul Rokosz replaces him. [8/02]
  
  Black Oak Emerging Technolgy: Thomas Hipp is out as co-manager. Jeffrey Travis replaces Hipp, and James Oelschlager remains as the other skipper of this foundering ship. FundAlarm comments: Sure, Oelschlager runs the company. But wouldn't it be satisfying if he fired himself, too? [8/02]
  
  Hancock Regional Bank: Tom Finucane leaves as a member of the three-person management team, and leaves the firm (he's joining State Street Research as an analyst). Lisa Welch takes over for Finucane. [8/02]
  
  Heritage Growth and Income: Eagle Asset Management is fired as subadvisor, and William Fries, of Thornburg Investment Management (and Thornburg Value Fund) takes over. This change should be great news for fund shareholders. [8/02]
  
  Heritage International Equity (formerly Heritage Eagle International Equity): Martin Currie, Inc. is fired as subadvisor, and Julius Baer Investment Management takes over. Richard Pell and Rudolph-Riad Younes will have day-to-day managemement responsibility for the fund. FundAlarm comments: Looks like somebody gave the directors of the Heritage funds a kick in the pants, and they finally went out and hired some decent managers (also see Heritage Growth and Income, above). Pell and Younes are the same guys who run the top-rated Julius Baer International Equity, and this change should make fund shareholders very happy. [8/02]
  
  Japan: In an August 27 vote, fund directors are asking shareholders to essentially set this fund adrift: Deutsche Investment Management Americas (successor to Zurich Scudder Investments) will be fired as the fund's investment advisor, and Fidelity will be hired, although the fund will not become part of the Fidelity family. At the same time, Scudder will be fired as the fund's administrator and distributor, and two divisions of SEI will take over those functions. FundAlarm comments: In an age of wimpy fund directors, the directors of the Japan fund have come up with just about the boldest plan that directors can come up with: They propose to cut their fund loose from the company that birthed to it. It's akin to the directors of the Janus fund firing Janus as investment advisor and hiring, say, Alliance, as the new manager. The directors of the Japan fund are clearly unsettled by all the recent changes at Zurich Scudder/Deutsche Bank, and perhaps most unsettled by the recent loss of top-notch manager Seung Kawk. Fidelity looks like a safe port in the storm. The most interesting part of this proposed transaction is also the most difficult to predict: Is this a harbinger of activist director decisions to come, or merely an isolated incident? If this is the start of a trend -- alas, unlikely -- we can hardly wait for fund industry jaws to start dropping. [8/02]
  
  MFS Institutional Mid Cap Growth: See MFS Mid Cap Growth, below. [8/02]
  
  MFS Mid Cap Growth: Mark Regan is removed as manager, and the team of David Sette-Ducati and Eric Fischman takes over. FundAlarm comments: Has anybody seen the bottom of this fund? It seems to have misplaced about a year ago, and investor wealth has been pouring out ever since. Regan (rightfully) gets the blame and the axe, but it's not clear why the new guys should do any better. If we owned this fund, we'd give it six months to straighten out. If not, we'd be gone. [8/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Dividend Growth: Paul Vance leaves as manager, after a long and profoundly mediocre tenure. A team led by Richard Behler, head of Morgan Stanley's value U.S. equity group, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Vance says that he wants to "devote more time and energy to life outside of the investment industry," and investors in this fund should be pleased with Mr. Vance's new perspective on life. Speaking of life, will the new managers breathe some into this fund? Probably not, but we'd be inclined to given them a chance. [8/02]
  
  Principal Blue Chip: Scott Opsal leaves as manager, and he's replaced by Mustafa Sagun. [8/02]
  
  Principal Partners SmallCap Growth: See Berger Small Company Growth, above. [8/02]
  
  Principal SmallCap : John McClain and Thomas Morabito leave as co-managers. Michael Johnson takes over. [8/02]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2002:
  
  American Century Select: Ken Crawford leaves as co-manager and apparently leaves the firm. Tim Reyonolds will continue to run the fund solo until American Century finds him a teammate. [7/02; Update @ 9/02: Wade Slome, a former analyst, is appointed co-manager to assist Reynolds.]
  
  CRM Mid Cap Value: Michael Prober leaves as lead manager. Jay Abrahamson, who previously shared "overall" management responsibilities for all CRM funds, will get his hands a little dirtier by running this fund day-to-day. [7/02]
  
  CRM Small Cap Value: Scott Scher leaves as lead manager, and James Stoeffel takes over. [7/02]
  
  Federated Capital Appreciation: Bernard Picchi leaves as lead manager. David Gilmore, part of Picchi's team, takes over, and he continues to be assisted by J. Thomas Madden and Linda Duessel. [7/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Fifty: See Fidelity Fifty, below. [7/02]
  
  Fidelity Fifty: John Muresianu resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to "manage his own account" ("Thank you, Fidelity investors, for making all of this possible"). Fergus Shiel takes over. FundAlarm comments: During his three-year tenure, Muresianu periodically went to cash and made the kind of big sector bets that Fidelity managers pretty much don't do any more. Was he lucky or skillful? Well, it worked, and that may be the only thing that matters now that he's gone. Shiel has turned in some terrific numbers at Fidelity Independence (where he will remain), but with very different areas of concentration than Muresianu. So if you want good performance, but you don't particulary care how it's arrived at, you'll want to give Shiel a good look. [7/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Disciplined Equity: James Ellman, on the job since March 2001, leaves the fund and leaves the firm. Andrea Mitroff is his replacement. [7/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Financial Services: James Ellman leaves the fund and leaves the firm. Walid Kassem takes over. [7/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Latin America: Orlando Muyshondt is removed as manager, and David Soden takes over. [7/02]
  
  Pioneer Small Cap Value: Kenneth Fuller resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. David Adams, a member of the fund's management team, takes over. [7/02]
  
  Pioneer Small Company: See Pioneer Small Cap Value, above. [7/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price New America Growth: Mark Baylin leaves "to pursue interests outside of T. Rowe Price." Robert Smith takes over for Baylin and remains at T. Rowe Price Growth Stock. [7/02]
  
  USAA equity funds: USAA has fired its in-house stock fund management team, and all USAA stock funds have been assigned to outside managers (subadvisors), as follows:
  
  

  USAA stock or balanced fund	New subadvisor
  Aggressive Growth	Tom Marsico, Marsico Capital Management
  Balanced Strategy	Matthew Megargel, Wellington Management Company
  Capital Growth	William Elcock, Batterymarch Financial Management
  Cornerstone Strategy	Matthew Megargel/James Hoffman, Wellington Management Company
  Emerging Markets	D. Kirk Henry/Carolyn Kedersha, The Boston Company Asset Management
  First Start Growth	Tom Marsico, Marsico Capital Management
  Growth	Tom Marsico, Marsico Capital Management; Seth Reicher/Mary Bersot, Dresdner RCM Global Investors
  Growth and Tax Strategy	Seth Reicher/Mary Bersot, Dresdner RCM Global Investors
  Growth & Income	Matthew Megargel, Wellington Management Company
  Income Stock	Valerie Sill, The Boston Company Asset Management
  International	David Mannheim/Marcus Smith, MFS Investment Management
  Science and Technology	Scott Simpson, Wellington Management Company (technology portion)
  Small Cap Stock	Todd McCallister, Eagle Asset Management
  Value	Susan Byrne, Westwood Management Corporation
  World Growth	David Mannheim, MFS Investment Management

  [7/02]
  Van Kampen Global Franchise: Andrew Brown leaves as manager, destination unknown. Hassan Elmasry takes over. FundAlarm comments: Since the inception of this fund, in September 1998, Brown has compiled a spectacular record. As far as we can tell from the information provided by Van Kampen, Elmasry has no prior experience with this fund. Star manager gone + no-name manager in his place = very careful monitoring required. [7/02]
  
  Vanguard Wellington: Ernst von Metzsch, of Wellington Management Company, will retire as lead manager of the equity portion of this fund at the end of 2002. His replacement will be Edward Bousa. FundAlarm comments: This fund has been a solid and consistent performer under von Metzsch, and Bousa has his work cut out for him. Can he do it? Ah, if we knew for sure we wouldn't be writing a free Web site. But based on what we do know -- Wellington is a class outfit, and the firm doesn't want to screw up its Vanguard relationship-- we can assume that Wellington, at least, thinks that Bousa is the right person for the job. When 2003 arrives, along with the new management regime, careful monitoring of performance is perhaps the best strategy for shareholders. [7/02]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2002:
  
  Dreyfus Third Century: NCM Capital Management Group is fired as subadvisor, and management of this fund is brought in-house under Emerson Tuttle, assisted by Leigh Todd and Barry Mills. Lincoln Carnam "remains the Fund's primary portfolio manager with respect to its areas of social concern." [6/02]
  
  Smith Barney International Aggressive Growth: James Conheady retires as lead manager. Jeffrey Russell, Conheady's co-manager, will now run this fund solo. [6/02]
  
  USAA Aggressive Growth: Eric Efron leaves as co-manager. John Cabell will now run this fund solo. [Change effective 4/02; posted 6/02]
  
  USAA Intermediate-Term Bond: Paul Lundmark leaves as manager, and Matthew Freund takes over. [6/02]
  
  USAA Short-Term Bond: See USAA Intermediate-Term Bond, above. [6/02]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2002:
  
  Al Frank: Fund namesake Al Frank died on April 25, 2002, and former co-manager John Buckingham now runs this fund solo. [5/02]
  
  RiverSource Discovery : Jacob Hurwitz is fired as manager (subadvior), and two new subadvisors take over: Jerome Heppelman of PBHG, and Kenneth Abrams, of Wellington Asset Management. [5/02]
  
  Dreyfus International Equity: Doug Loeffler leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Edward Allinson, lately of SSga International Growth Opportunities, takes over. [5/02]
  
  Evergreen Utility & Telecommunications: Timothy O'Brien, of Gabelli Utilities, takes over as lead manager. Someone or other presumably is replaced, but Evergreen doesn't give investors enough information to find out who that ex-manager is. Sorry, folks, but this is the wave of the future, brought to you by fund companies that don't have enough respect for their customers to tell them who is handling their money. Evergreen is a prime offender, should that help inspire you to move your money elsewhere. [5/02]
  
  Gabelli Utilities: Timothy O'Brien leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. A team led by the overworked Mario Gabelli takes over. [5/02]
  
  Japan: Seung Kwak leaves this fund as its long-time lead manager. Kwak's co-manager, Sean Lenihan, is joined by Tad Fukushima and Tim Griffen. [5/02]
  
  Lazard Small Cap: Leonard Wilson leaves as a member of the three-person management team. Herbert Gullquist and Matrick Mullin continue. [5/02]
  
  MFS Institutional Emerging Equities: Neil Wagner leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for BlackRock Inc., where he will run the firm's new "fundamemental small cap growth" operation." No Blackrock mutual funds for Wagner, at least not yet. [5/02]
  
  MFS New Discovery: See MFS Institutional Emerging Equities, above. [5/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Capital Opportunities: TCW Investment Management is fired as subadvisor, effective "on or about" October 1, 2002. An in-house small/mid-cap growth team will take over, led by Dennis Lynch and David Cohen. [5/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Small Cap Growth: See Morgan Stanley Capital Opportunities, above. [5/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Total Return: TCW Investment Management is fired as subadvisor, effective "on or about" October 1, 2002. An in-house global asset allocation team will take over, led by Mark Bavoso. [5/02]
  
  Westcore International Frontier: Michael Gerding leaves as manager and leaves the firm. He's headed for Wasatch, where he will co-manage the new Wasatch International Growth, which is scheduled to debut at the end of June. Taking over for Gerding is the team of Adam Schor and Kevin Beck. Schor co-managed Oakmark International Small Cap for about 18 months in 1996 and 1997, when the fund performed quite well. Beck has no public mutual fund record. [5/02]
  
  Westcore International Select: See Westcore International Frontier, above. [5/02]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2002:
  
  Credit Suisse Large Cap Value: Roger Vogel and Richard Hanlon leave as managers. Christopher Corapi takes over. [4/02]
  
  Credit Suisse Small Cap Value: See Credit Suisse Large Cap Value, above. [4/02]
  
  Evergreen Growth & Income: "Somebody" leaves as lead manager, and Walter McCormick replaces him or her. FundAlarm comments: In the almost-six years that we've been publishing FundAlarm, we've learned to admire the way some fund companies handle the reporting of manager changes (Fidelity, for one, does a very thorough job, even if it does bury the press releases deep within its Web site). We've also learned to despise the way some fund companies report manager changes, and Evergreen falls into that category. In fact, we have a little theory: The sloppy and indifferent way that Evergreen reports manager changes reflects the sloppy and indifferent way that Evergreen runs its funds. Perhaps we'll expand this into a Grand Theory at a later date. In the meantime, it's pretty much impossible to tell who was running this fund and, therefore, who McCormick has replaced. The prospectus for this fund merely says that it is managed by a "team." In a press release (not posted on its Web site, by the way), Evergreen says that Sujatha Avutu will continue as co-manager of this fund, which is a pretty good indication that she was here before. One financial Web site (cbs.marketwatch.com) says that Timothy O'Grady has been booted off this fund as co-manager, although Evergreen's press release makes no mention of him. And, finally, our records (and the Morningstar database) indicate that Phillip Foreman was lead manager of this fund, but Evergreen doesn't even hint at Foreman's fate. (As it turns out, Foreman left Evergreen in mid-January to manage WM West Coast Equity). Evergreen shareholders, you should be angry: Your fund company has so little respect for you, it won't even tell you who is running your fund. As for new manager McCormick, he has been lured back from semi-retirement, where was reportedly handling private investment accounts and running his own charter sports fishing operation. Imagine how happy and motivated he must be right about now, cooped up in an office building and staring at computer monitors all day. Maybe when he leaves, Evergreen will tell you. But don't count on it. [4/02]
  
  Evergreen Value: "Somebody" leaves as lead manager, and Walter McCormick (joined by Jim Tringas) replaces him or her. FundAlarm comments: See our rant, above, for Evergreen Growth & Income. Evergreen doesn't say who McCormick replaces at Evergreen Value, but it might be Timothy O'Grady. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology: See Fidelity Select Biotechnology, below. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Electronics: Ted Orenstein leaves as manager, and Praveen Abichandani replaces him. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Korea: Hokeun Chung is removed as manager, and Agus Tandiono takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Biotechnology: Brian Younger is removed as manager and Andraz Razen, a new name in the Fidelity managerial merry-go-round, takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Chemicals: Jonathan Zang warms the manager's chair longer than usual for a Select fund (about 27 months), but now he's gone. John Roth takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy: Scott Offen leaves as manager, and John Porter takes over. FundAlarm comments: Porter is either being carefully groomed to manage a diversified fund, or else he's one of the easiest Select fund managers to kick around. So far, in his seven-year Fidelity career, he's managed Select portfolios in the following areas: Consumer Industries, Multimedia, Software and Computer Services, and Medical Delivery -- and now Energy/Natural Resources. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Environmental: Valerie Friedholm is removed as manager, and Robert Bao takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Health Care: Yolanda Strock leaves as manager, and Steven Calhoun takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Industrial Equipment: Praveen Abichandani heads out the managerial revolving door, and Ted Orenstein steps in. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Charles Hebard spends about a year at this fund, and now he's gone. Alexander Sacerdote replaces Hebard. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Delivery: Sanjeev Makan is removed as manager. His replacement is Jonathan Zang. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Multimedia: Victor Thay leaves as manager, and Brian Kennedy replaces him. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Resources: See Fidelity Select Energy, above. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals: Yolanda Strock leaves as manager, and Gavin Baker takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Telecommunications: Timothy Cohen leaves as manager and Brian Younger takes over. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Utilities Growth: John Roth gets moved from this fund to Select Chemicals (see above). Shep Perkins replaces Roth. [4/02]
  
  Fidelity Utilities: Timothy Cohen is removed as manager, and Martin Zinny replaces him. [4/02]
  
  ING (formerly: Aetna) Small Company: Thomas DiBella leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for the Turner funds, where he will co-manage two new small-cap offerings. Carolie Burroughs takes over for DiBella. [4/02]
  
  Managers Global Bond: Olaf Rogge, of Rogge Global Partners is fired as sub-advisor. The new sub-advisor is Loomis, Sayles. [4/02]
  
  Managers International Equity: Lazard Asset Management is fired as one of three sub-advisors, and Bernstein Investment Research and Management replaces them. [4/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Value: Stephen Silverman leaves the fund, and retires from the firm. Walid Kassem and William Patzer, former analysts for the fund, take over. FundAlarm comments: Morningstar reports that the new managers "will apply the same stock selection standards Silverman used, but they plan to make Global Value more diversified," holding up to 100 stocks instead of Silverman's usual 50 stocks. Which is to say, Merrill Lynch Global Value will be an entirely new fund. This was an OK fund under Silverman -- just OK -- so it bears careful watching under the new and less experienced management. [4/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Pacific: Stephen Silverman leaves the fund, and retires from the firm. James Russell, a former analyst for this fund, takes over. [4/02]
  
  MFS Emerging Growth: John Ballen moves from lead manager to an "oversight" role (i.e., "Hi, how ya doin'?"). The three-person team that had been assisting Ballen will carry on with his "oversight." FundAlarm comments: Ballen has been at this fund since its inception in 1986, he's president of MFS, and he's often quoted in the financial press, all of which make him something of a Mutual Fund Elder Statesman. Or, we should say, a Mutual Fund Elder Statesman Who Can't Run a Mutual Fund. This fund had some decent years under Ballen in the early 1990s; since about 1996, it has been dreadful. According to The Wall Street Journal, the new managers will try to move the fund "back to its roots" by tilting more toward small- and mid-cap stocks, and avoiding heavy concentrations in any one issue. With a fund as large as this one (over $9 billion in assets), we're not holding our breath. Throw in Ballen's "oversight," and this fund is a compelling candidate for sale. [4/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Balanced Growth: Angelo Manioudakis and Charles Moon leave as managers of the fixed-income portion of this fund. No replacement has been named. [4/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Balanced Income: See Morgan Stanley Balanced Growth, above. [4/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Utilities: See Morgan Stanley Balanced Growth, above. [4/02]
  
  Putnam Global Growth: Co-manager Robert Swift, a high-ranking sacrifice, has "agreed to leave" Putnam. Beth Cotner is also leaving as co-manager of this fund. Swift and Cotner are survived by eight other team members.[4/02]
  
  Putnam Growth Opportunities: Beth Cotner, described in her Putnam bio as "co-manager" of this fund, will leave "within the year." No replacement has been named, but there are six guys on her team who can probably fill in for a while. [4/02]
  
  Putnam Investors: Beth Cotner will leave as lead manager of this fund "within the year." No replacement has been named, but there are twelve, count 'em twelve, co-managers listed for this fund. Presumably, one of them will rise to the top. [4/02]
  
  Van Kampen Equity Income: Angelo Manioudakis leaves as manager of the fixed-income portion of this fund. No replacement has been named. [4/02]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2002:
  
  RiverSource Global Balanced: Elizabeth Tran leaves this three-person management team, which is now a two-person management team. [3/02]
  
  RiverSource Growth: Lisa Costa and Steven Mullinix are removed as managers, to make room for Nick Thakore who is coming over from Fidelity Fund. FundAlarm comments: According to morningstar.com, Costa and Mullinix have been "given the opportunity to apply for other jobs within the company," which doesn't sound like much, but is actually quite generous, given the performance of this fund under their leadership. This fund will be an interesting case study. If Thakore can finally turn this long-term loser around, then it is possible, just possible, that managers really do matter. [3/02]
  
  RiverSource International: This fund was managed by the team of Mark Fawcett, Richard Leadem, and Gavin Corr, and someone must have said "Get the Leadem out" (sorry). Leadem is indeed out, along with Corr. Replacing them is Mark Burgess.[3/02]
  
  Enterprise International Growth: The subadvisor stays the same (Vontobel USA), but the day-to-day manager changes: Fabrizio Pierallini leaves, and Rajiv Jain takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity: Nick Thakore leaves as manager and leaves the firm, one of four manager defections to American Express. John Avery takes over for Thakore. FundAlarm comments: Since Thakore took over this fund, in June 2000, he's just about been glued to the large-cap benchmark. Not an exciting result, but it could have been much worse. Avery comes to this fund from Fidelity Advisor Growth & Income, which he took over in June 2000. Over roughly the same time period, Avery actually posted better numbers than Thakore. If you been happy with Thakore, you should be ever-so-slightly happier now that Avery is in charge. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Balanced: John Avery leaves as manager, and Louis Salemy takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Growth and Income: See Fidelity Advisor Balanced, above. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Telecom and Utilities Growth: Timothy Cohen leaves as manager, and Shep Perkins takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Balanced: Robert Ewing leaves the fund, and heads for American Express. Lawrence Rakers replaces Ewing. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Convertible Securities: Lawrence Rakers, who never seemed to belong here in the first places, leaves as manager after about eight months on the job. Victor Thay, who also doesn't seem to belong here, takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Export and Multinational: Douglas Chase leaves as manager, one of the Fidelity Four that is heading for American Express. His replacement is Tim Cohen. FundAlarm comments: Chase has managed this fund during a difficult time, starting in February 2000, and he has posted some excellent numbers during his short tenure. Cohen has a skimpy record, mostly with utilities and telecom funds, but also with an insurance fund thrown in just to confuse things. If we owned this fund, we'd be watching it very carefully. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Computers: Telis Bertsekas leaves as manager, and leaves Fidelity. Christian Zann takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy Service: Nicholas Tiller leaves as manager, and Charles Hebard replaces him. Tiller is reportedly joining the same hedge fund that lured away Christopher Zepf, another Fidelity Select manager, in January. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Networking and Infrastructure: Sonu Kalra, manager of this fund since January 2002 (yes, about 30 days), picked up his phone one day and found out he was no longer manager. Chris Bartel takes over. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Technology: Telis Bertsekas resigns as manager, and leaves Fidelity (he's headed to American Express with three of his compatriots). Sonu Kalra takes over for Bertsekas... FundAlarm comments:...and we hope they don't order too many business cards for Kalra. This temporary repository for managers-on-the-move, a.k.a., Select Technology fund, has experienced an absurd amount of turnover -- four different managers since February 2000, including two manager departures since the beginning of this year. If this kind of chaos truly has no effect on the performance of this fund, then the manager truly adds no value, and Fidelity might as well let a computer run it. [3/02]
  
  Fidelity Worldwide: Douglas Chase leaves as co-manager, and Brian Hogan takes over. [3/02]
  
  Mercury Small Cap Value: See Merrill Lynch Small Cap Value, below. [3/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Small Cap Value: Dan Szemis leaves as manager, and leaves the firm for a hedge fund. The ever-willing Elise Baum takes over. FundAlarm comments: Dan Szemis posted an absolutely terrific record at this fund, one of Merrill's few star managers at the helm of a star fund. Elise Baum is apparently trying to manage at least one fund of every variety: She had a mid-cap and technology fund under her belt, and now she's got this small-cap offering. Can large-cap be far behind? Call us old-fashioned, but we're very suspicious of jack-of-all-trades managers. Baum has a good record at Mid Cap Value -- not as good as Szemis at this fund, but still good. Still, she seems over-extended and overly ambitious. We'd watch this one carefully. [3/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Instl Emerging Markets: Robert Meyer leaves as co-lead manager. The remaining members of his team (four of them) will continue to run this fund. [3/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Latin American: Robert Meyer leaves as co-lead manager. The three remaining members of his team will continue to run this fund, led by Michael Perl. [3/02]
  
  Schroder International: Michael Perelstein leaves as manager. Sheridan Reilly and Deborah Chaplin, of Ivy International, take over as subadvisors. [3/02]
  
  Templeton International (Ex EM): Dale Winner is removed as lead manager. Winner is replaced by Lisa Myers, who is assisted by Jeffrey Everett, a member of Winner's team. FundAlarm comments: The brief bio for Ms. Myers, provided by Templeton, reads as follows: "[Myers] joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 1996. Previously, she was an attorney with Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher." So is this a burned-out attorney, looking for a new career, or a pre-burned-out attorney who realized that she made a mistake by going into law? If it's the former, who wants a burned-out lawyer? And if it's the latter, why wasn't money management her first career choice? (A little career passion is always nice.) Either way, based on the background provided by Templeton, this is not a shareholder-friendly change. [3/02]
  
  USAA Cornerstone Strategy: R. David Ullom leaves as manager of the U.S. stocks category. He's replaced by a three-person team (James Behrmann, Mitchell Brivic and Timothy Beyer). [3/02]
  
  WM Mid Cap Stock: Stephen Spencer is removed as manager, and Daniel Coleman takes over. [3/02]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2002:
  
  AIM Charter: Lanny Sachnowitz leaves as manager, to take over AIM Weingarten (below). Ronald Sloan, joined by Michael Yellen, replaces Sachnowitz. An AIM press release says absolutely nothing about Mr. Yellin's background, so we have to assume there is nothing in that background worthy of note. FundAlarm comments: Sloan has tuned in some good numbers at his current charge, AIM Mid Cap Equity, which is a growth fund. AIM Charter is a large-cap blend fund, so it's not clear how Sloan's experience is directly applicable. But compared to the arrival of Sachnowitz at AIM Weingarten, Sloan's arrival here is almost cause for celebration. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Developing Communications: Christopher Zepf leaves as manager, and leaves Fidelity. Shep Perkins replaces him. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Technology: See Fidelity Select Technology, below. [2/02 & 3/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Banking: Samuel Peters leaves as manager, and he starts warming the chair at Fidelity Select Electronics (see below). Peter Hirsch takes over for Peters, in a rare "double Peter" succession. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Jennifer Nettesheim leaves as manager. Her replacement is Joshua Spencer, which creates excitement in the Spencer family, if nowhere else. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Construction and Housing: Joshua Spencer leaves as manager, for Select Brokerage and Investment (above). Spencer's replacement is Valerie Friedholm. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Electronics: Brian Hanson made it to his one-year anniversary as manager, and Fidelity apparently decided that was more than enough. He's gone. Hanson's replacement is Samuel Peters, who previously managed Fidelity Select Banking. Peters should be a whiz at analyzing companies that make automated teller machines, given his banking and (now) electronics experience. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Equipment and Systems: Christine Schaulat leaves as manager, and Steven Calhoun takes over. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Networking and Infrastructure: Amazing! This is a Select fund, and there has never been a manager change. Oh, wait, it's not so amazing: This fund has only been in existence for 16 months. Jed Weiss leaves as manager, and Sonu Kalra takes over. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Retailing: Steven Calhoun leaves as manager, and Brian Hanson takes over. [2/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Technology: Christopher Zepf leaves as manager, after about six months on the job, and he leaves the firm. Telis Bertsekas takes over. [2/02]
  
  Guardian Park Avenue Small Cap: Somebody gets demoted as lead manager, to make way for Matthew Ziehl (see Salomon Bros Small Cap Growth, below). Wish we could be more helpful. However, like so many funds, this fund never specified who was really in charge, except to say that it was a "team of investment professionals." Therefore, it's impossible to say who is stepping aside for Ziehl. If you don't want your fund managers hiding behind the "team" label or, heaven forbid, you actually want to know something about their backgrounds, you might want to let your fund company know how you feel. [2/02]
  
  Haven: Colin Ferenbach wipes the slate clean: He resigns as manager of this fund, and he also resigns as a founding officer and employee of the management company. Co-manager Denis Turko takes over as lead manager, and Stephen Ely steps in as Turko's deputy. [2/02]
  
  Janus Adviser Aggressive Growth: See Janus Enterprise, below. [2/02]
  
  Janus Aspen Aggressive Growth: See Janus Enterprise, below. [2/02]
  
  Janus Enterprise: Jim Goff is replaced as manager. He's being kicked upstairs to an administrative position, where he will be responsible for training and mentoring 43 eager young minds, also known as "the Janus analysts." Jonathan Coleman replaces Goff. FundAlarm comments: Goff swaggers with the rest of the Janus managers, but the reality is quite different. Throughout Goff's 10-year tenure at Enterprise he's been a mediocre manager, saved briefly, as were so many others, by the late-1990s tech bubble. Now, this mediocre manager is going to impart his wisdom to the younger generation at Janus. (At this point, readers are invited to draw their own conclusions about the success of this endeavor.) Jonathan Coleman, who replaces Goff, was co-manager of Janus Venture during its steep rise and rapid descent (1997-2000). In other words, shareholders of Enterprise have no reason to feel confident. [2/02]
  
  Mass Mutual Instl Mid Cap Growth: Arden Armstrong leaves as manager. Her successor is not yet clear, although it may be David Chu and Dennis Lynch, who are taking over several other funds from Armstrong at Morgan Stanley (see below). [2/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Instl Mid Cap Growth: Arden Armstrong and Steven Chulik leave as co-managers, and leave Morgan Stanley to start their own firm. David Chu, who used to work with Armstrong and Chulik, stays behind; Chu is joined by Dennis Lynch. FundAlarm comments: Armstrong has been a bit off her game for the past 12 months or so, but her three-year record remains decent, and her five- and ten-year records remain excellent. Armstrong's replacements are weak. If you own this fund, and you aren't giving some serious consideration to bailing out, please write and tell us what kind of manager change would make you sell. We like to learn. [2/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Instl Mid Cap Value: Gary Schlarbaum leaves as one of three co-managers, and leaves the firm. He is starting a hedge fund with his son. William Gerlach and Bradley Daniels continue on. [Source: morningstar.com, 2/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Instl Small Cap Growth: Same as Morgan Stanley Instl Mid Cap Growth, above: Armstrong and Chulik leave to start their own firm and David Chu, who co-managed with Armstrong and Chulik, stays behind (wouldn't you just love to know if Armstrong and Chulik asked Chu to join them?) Dennis Lynch is Chu's new co-manager. FundAlarm comments: Armstrong generated a 314% return for this fund in 1999, and that has helped, let us say, considerably in propping up this fund's three-year record. Performance for the years 2000 and 2001 were decent and mediocre, respectively, but you really can't write off a manager like Armstrong. Armstrong was the reason for owning this fund, and now she's gone. Investors, and especially investors in non-taxable accounts, might want to take the hint. [2/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley Instl Small Cap Value: See Morgan Stanley Instl Mid Cap Value, above. [2/02]
  
  Morgan Stanley New Discoveries: Arden Armstrong and Steven Chulik leave as co-managers, and leave Morgan Stanley to start their own firm. It appears that David Chu, who used to work with Armstrong and Chulik, will stay behind to manage the fund, joined by Dennis Lynch. [2/02]
  
  Putnam OTC & Emerging Growth: Steve Kirson is fired as manager -- yes, really and truly F-I-R-E-D. Kirson's co-managers, Roland Gillis and Michael Mufson, will continue running this long-term exercise in futility. FundAlarm comments:
  

  "This fund is so ugly, it scares the roaches away." "This fund is so ugly, it makes an onion cry." "This fund is so ugly, even Rice Krispies won't talk to it." "This fund is so ugly, people go as it for Halloween."

  But seriously, folks: It is rare, almost to the point of unprecedented, that such a large ($3 billion) fund from a major fund family is allowed to deteriorate the way this one has. Somebody at Putnam could probably explain this mess, but of course they never will. This is also one of those rare funds that can hardly get worse, which should give current shareholders the kind of inner peace that is often achieved by the truly desperate. If you stay, there's almost certainly some upside in your future. If you sell, you can probably find another fund with even more upside potential. But if your new fund is also from the Putnam family -- which may be the suggestion of your financial planner or broker -- you are simply rewarding the same people who have screwed you for so many years. How about moving to a better fund, outside the Putnam family? [2/02]
  
  RS Contrarian: Eastbourne Capital Management is removed as outside manager (subadvisor). RS Investments is putting this fund under in-house management, led by Andrew Pilara. [2/02]
  
  Salomon Bros Small Cap Growth: Matthew Ziehl leaves as leader of the management team that runs this fund. Ziehl is headed for Guardian, where he will run Park Avenue Small Cap. [2/02]
  
  Seligman Frontier: Mark Cuneen, hedge-fund bound, leaves as manager, and Cuneen's primary analyst goes with him. Rick Ruvkun takes over. [2/02]
  
  Seligman Global Smaller Companies: Mark Cuneen, hedge-fund bound, leaves as manager. Rick Ruvkun takes over the fund's domestic porfolio. [2/02]
  
  Seligman Global Technology: Paul Wick steps down as manager of this fund's domestic portfolio. Wick, who continues to run Seligman Communications and Information (plus a hedge fund within Seligman) is replaced by Richard Parower, who's been an analyst on this fund since April 2000. The international portion of this fund stays under Steven Werber. FundAlarm comments: This is one of the few tech funds on the FundAlarm Honor Roll. Wick has an excellent track record, and Parower has none, so this fund bears careful watching. [2/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price Global Technology: Chip Morris leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Robert Gensler, of T. Rowe Price Media & Telecommunications, takes over. [2/02]
  
  T. Rowe Price Science & Technology: Chip Morris leaves the fund and leaves the firm. Michael Sola takes over. FundAlarm comments: TRP says that Morris wasn't fired, which is too bad, because he should have been. Up markets: Morris failed to keep pace, and he made excuses. Down markets: Morris lost more than most, and he still made excuses. Meanwhile, investors in this fund (including yours truly) experienced an erosion of capital. OK, let's be blunt: We lost a ****load of money on this turkey. Sola may be a genius, but Price made a serious botch of this fund, and Price doesn't deserve my tech-fund dollars any longer. I'll be out before the end of the month, at least a year too late, and you might want to consider doing the same. [2/02]
  
  Van Kampen Mid Cap Growth: Arden Armstrong and Steven Chulik (of Morgan Stanley) leave as co-managers (subadvisors). It appears that David Chu, who used to work with Armstrong and Chulik, will continue to manage the fund, joined by Dennis Lynch, also of Morgan Stanley. [2/02]
  
  W&R Tax-Managed Equity: Cynthia Price-Fox leaves as manager, to assume other fund duties within the firm. Barry Ogden takes over. [2/02]
  
  Waddell & Reed Advisors Tax-Managed Equity: See W&R Tax-Managed Equity, above. [2/02]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2002:
  
  Dreyfus Balanced: Curtis Anderson leaves as manager, and John Jares replaces him. [1/02]
  
  Dreyfus Balanced: Ronald Gala and Laurie Carroll are replaced as managers, but they stay with the firm. Douglas Ramos takes over the equity portion from Gala, and Gerald Thunelius replaces Carroll on the fixed income side. [1/02]
  
  Evergreen Blue Chip: Judith Warners leaves as manager. Patricia Bannan and "the large cap core growth team" take over. [1/02]
  
  Evergreen Worldwide Blue Chip: See Evergreen Blue Chip, above. [1/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Software and Computer Services: Telis Bertsekas leaves as manager. Christian Zann, tech-analyst extraordinaire for an entire four months (and former manager of Fidelity Select Natural Gas), replaces Bertsekas. Did we miss something? Are computers now run by natural gas? [1/02]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: Ian Gutterman leaves as manager, and Heather Lawrence replaces him. [1/02]
  
  Harbor International Growth: Jennison Associates (represented by Howard Moss and Blair Boyer) is fired as subadvisor. A team from Mastholm Asset Management takes over, led by Theodore Tyson. FundAlarm comments: "What have you done for me lately?" is the one question this fund doesn't want to hear. From its inception in November 1993, through the end of 1998, Harbor International Growth posted a terrific record. Since 1999, this fund hasn't been able to invest itself out of a paper bag. The new management firm of Mastholm, based in the financial hot-spot of Bellevue, Washington, isn't exactly a household name. But most of the firm's principals gained their experience at the American Century funds, and new lead manager Tyson did an excellent job in the six years that he ran American Century International Growth (May 1991 to early 1997). If we owned this fund, we'd definitely give the new team a chance. [1/02]
  
  Mass Mutual Instl Core Value Equity: An undisclosed portion of this fund's assets is taken away from sole subadvisor David L. Babson & Co., which also happens to be an affiliate of Mass Mutual. Joining Babson as co-manager are Marilyn Goldstein Fedak and Steven Pisarkiewicz, of Alliance Capital Management. FundAlarm comments: "Ma, how could you do this to me?" [1/02]
  
  Mass Mutual Instl Small Cap Growth Equity: J.P. Morgan Chase is fired as co-manager (sub-advisor), and Kenneth Abrams, of Wellington Management, takes over. Waddell & Reed remains as the other manager. [1/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Equity Income: Long-time manager Walter Rogers steps down. Robert Shearer, who currently runs Merrill Lynch Natural Resources, replaces Rogers. [1/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Global Technology: Paul Meeks leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Meeks underperformed when the tech market was on the way up and, for good measure, also underperformed on the way down. FundAlarm comments:
  

  "Hey, Joe, who do we have left to run this fund?" "How about Elise Baum?" "But she's a mid-cap value manager." "You asked me who we had left." "Can a value manager even pick tech stocks?" "We'll find out, won't we?"

  [1/02]
  
  Merrill Lynch Utilities & Telecom: Walter Rogers leaves as manager, and Kathleen Anderson takes over. [1/02]
  
  Pioneer Value: Richard Dahlberg leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed -- not to a hedge fund! -- but to the firm that runs the GMO funds, where he will join the "U.S. acitve equity" team. The respectable Dahlberg is replaced by a "team of domestic equity portfolio managers," which sends shivers of anticipation up and down our spine. [1/02]
  
  Wells Fargo Asset Allocation: Barclays Global Fund Advisors is fired as manager (sub-advisor). Wells Capital Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, takes over. (Now, isn't that convenient..) [1/02]
  
  Wells Fargo Index Allocation: See Wells Fargo Asset Allocation, above. [1/02]
  
  Westcore Select: Gerald Peterson leaves as manager and leaves Westcore, to "pursue entrepeneurial interests" (i.e., he's opening his own money management firm). Replacing Peterson is the team of Todger Anderson and William Chester. Anderson currently runs Westcore Midco Growth, a profoundly middling fund. [1/02]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2001:
  
  American Century Target (2005/10/15/20/25/30): David Schroder leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Jeremy Fletcher, Schroder's former co-manager, takes over. [12/01]
  
  Artisan Mid Cap Value: Effective November 1, 2001, Dean Du Monthier left as co-manager and left the firm, after less than a year on the job. Marina Carlson took over as solo manager. Blink. Effective November 19, Carlson stepped down as manager and the team of Scott Satterwhite and James Kieffer took over. FundAlarm comments: DuMonthier used to work at cross-town rival Strong, so he is rapidly running out of Milwaukee-based fund companies to work for. We're not sure what was really behind that bizarre, double manager turnover in less than 20 days. In any event, Satterwhite is a good manager, and his only other fund (Artisan Small Cap Value) is closed to new investors. If you own Mid Cap Value, it might be a good idea to stay put. If you don't own Mid Cap Value, but you have a hankering for Satterwhite, this fund might be a good way to get through an otherwise closed door. [12/01]
  
  Delaware Balanced: John Jares leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for Dreyfus (see below), where he'll take over several funds from Thomas Arrington and Scott Chapman. [12/01]
  
  Several Dreyfus funds: Management contracts for Thomas Arrington and Scott Chapman were not renewed, which means that they are out the door. Arrington and Chapman managed or co-managed the following funds:
  
  

  Dreyfus Growth (Arrington/Chapman)

  
  John Jares takes over for Arrington and/or Chapman. [12/01]
  
  Eaton Vance Info Age: Duncan Richardson leaves as co-manager, following his appointment as chief equity investment officer. Jacob Rees-Mogg, who's been with Richardson since the inception of this fund, will step into the lead manager spot. Rees-Mogg be joined by Martha Locke. [12/01]
  
  Evergreen: Richard Welsh is canned as manager, only a couple of months after taking over from Jean Ledford. According to the official, but uselees, information provided by Evergreen, this fund is now "co-managed by two of [Evergreen's] teams of portfolio management professionals -- the Large Cap Value team and the Large Cap Core Growth team -- with team members responsible for various sectors." According to Morningstar.com, Timothy O'Grady is actually the value manager, and Maureen Cullinane is the growth manager.FundAlarm comments: This fund has moved into fright pig territory, so anything will probably be an improvement. Cullinane is an average growth manager, and O'Grady is a slightly above-average value manager. Put them together, and you are likely to get a fund that comes in slightly above or below its benchmark. No great upside, but probably no great downside, either. [12/01]
  
  Evergreen Foundation: Richard Welsh is removed as manager of the stock portion of this fund. Maureen Cullinane and Timothy O'Grady, growth an value managers respectively, take over for Welsh. [12/01]
  
  Evergreen Global Leaders: Edwin Miska and Anthony Han are removed as managers. Gilman Gunn, who's done a good job at Evergreen International Growth, takes over the international side of this fund. Patricia Bannan takes over the dometic stock side. [12/01]
  
  GMO Value III: Richard Mayo leaves as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. FundAlarm comments: See, hedge funds aren't just for whippersnappers. Mayo is 59-years old, he's the "M" in the GMO funds, and he helped build GMO into a $20-billion-in-assets investment powerhouse. What does he need a hedge fund for? Mayo is being joined at his new hedge fund by his son, R. Scott Mayo, who used to manage several funds for John Hancock (see below). Dad will probably be the rainmaker, and we suspect that the rain will come down in buckets. Meanwhile, his son gets a really nice start in a really lucrative business, with very little sweat on anybody's part. Hey, wait for me.... [12/01]
  
  Hancock Focused Relative Value: Co-managers R. Scott Mayo and Timothy Quinlisk quit the fund and leave the firm. They are joining a new hedge fund started by Mayo's father, Richard Mayo (see GMO Value III, above). James Yu, the other manager on this fund, will run it solo, at least for a while. [12/01]
  
  Hancock Large Cap Value: See Hancock Focused Relative Value, above. [12/01]
  
  Hancock Small Cap Value: See Hancock Focused Relative Value, above. [12/01]
  
  JP Morgan H&Q IPO & Emerging Company: Symphony Asset Management, a specialist in evaluating IPOs, is removed as manager. The fund will be run by an in-house team at JP Morgan Fleming. The fund is also changing its name to JP Morgan Mid-Cap Growth Fund. FundAlarm comments: Oops. But IPOs seemed like such a good idea at the time. [12/01]
  
  Mercury Focus Twenty: See Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty, below. [12/01]
  
  Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty: Jim McCall flees as manager, apparently taking advantage of a Merrill Lynch severance package (up to 54 weeks of pay, plus 40% of any year-end bonus for 2000). Associate manager Michael Hahn, with nothing to lose but his career, takes over from McCall. FundAlarm comments: In a unique twist on what many athletes try to do, McCall has chosen to bow out at the very bottom of his career. Now, let's try to assign some blame. On the one hand, we could blame Merrill Lynch for shamelessly promoting this ill-conceived and ill-timed fund, but that's what fund companies do. Or, we might blame McCall for taking the manager's job in the first place, but that's what managers do. In other words, given the nature of the fund industry today, everyone and no one is to blame for this disaster. Hahn's main claim to fame as manager is that he worked alongside McCall for the better part of a decade. If you own this fund, for heaven's sake, what are you waiting for? Run!!! Run!!! [12/01]
  
  Merrill Lynch Premier Growth: See Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty, above. [12/01]
  
  
  Pioneer Europe: Theresa Hamacher leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm, about six months after the departure of the previous manager, Patrick Smith. Senior team member Michael Bradshaw will presumably take over for Hamacher. [12/01]
  
  Pioneer Europe Select: See Pioneer Europe, above. [12/01]
  
  Pioneer Growth: Theresa Hamacher leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. The previous manager, Jeff Poppenhagen, left only about a year ago. Senior team member Eric Weigel appears most likely to succeed Hamacher. [12/01]
  
  Pioneer Independence: Theresa Hamacher, who was also Pioneer's chief investment officer, leaves as manager and leaves the firm. John Carey and Andrew Acheson takes over. FundAlarm comments: Hamacher did a good job at this fund during her short tenure, and ordinarily she would be missed. But Carey has posted good long-term numbers at the two funds he currently runs, Pioneer and Pioneer Equity Income. We have serious doubts about Pioneer's prospects as a fund firm, but as long as Carey is in charge we'd probably hold onto this one. (OK, we'll go out on a limb: Carey will be gone from Pioneer within 18 months.) [12/01]
  
  Pioneer International Equity: Theresa Hamacher leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Senior team member Pavlos Alexandrakis is the most likely sucessor. [12/01]
  
  
• Originally posted November 2001:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Select Financial Services, below. [11/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: James Catudal leaves as manager, for Fidelity Stock Selector (below). Jeffrey Feingold takes over. [11/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products: Adam Segal leaves as manager, to become a tobacco and beverage analyst. (Segal seems to have all of the exciting industries locked up at Fidelity). Vincent Rivers takes over for Segal. [11/01]
  
  Fidelity Stock Selector: Manager Bobby Kuo is replaced by James Catudal. FundAlarm comments: Kuo is part of Fidelity's "quantitative management team" (i.e., the computer geeks) , and Fidelity was typically uninformative about the reasons for this change. Going forward, it's clear (from a Fidelity press release) that Catudal will scrap the quantitative approach, and Stock Selector will be run using a "fundamental, bottom-up approach to analysis and stock selection." Fidelity claims that the Kuo's dismissal is not performance-related, and it's merely the result of an internal "restructuring" that will result in one core, quantitative discipline under Steven Snider (manager of Fidelity Disciplined Equity). It looks to us like Fidelity has soured on the quantitative approach in general, but the firm wants to maintain some presence in the quant area. Snider is "sector neutral," Kuo wasn't, so Kuo loses his fund, and the fund's quant approach is dropped. Snider get to keep his fund and pursue a quant strategy, at least for now. [11/01]
  
  Fidelity TechnoQuant Growth: Manager John Chow, on the job for all of six months, is replaced by Bahaa Fam. FundAlarm comments: Unlike Fidelity Stock Selector, above, this fund will continue to take a quantitative approach. Probably has something to do with the fund's name, which would make it pretty hard not to run it as a quant fund. Simply because of that name, this may be one of the last quant funds left standing at Fidelity. [11/01]
  
  HighMark Growth: When all else fails, call in the subadvisors. HighMark Capital Management throws in the towel, and basically fires itself as manager. Daniel Becker and Philip Sanders, from Waddell & Reid, take over as outside managers (subadvisors). [11/01]
  
  HighMark Small Cap Value: HighMark Capital Management is out, and LSV Asset Management is in as subadvisor. LSV is run by Josef Lakonishok, the classic value investor who was recently profiled in the book Investment Titans, by Jonathan Burton. [11/01]
  
  Managers Intermediate Bond: Howard Rubin, who was in charge of a team from Standish Mellon Asset Management, is fired as manager. Tad Rivelle, heading up a team from Metropolitan West Asset Management, takes over. [11/01]
  
  Masters' Select International: Helen Young Hayes, one of this fund's five star managers, leaves under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Officially, Hayes is leaving because she was "unable to maintain the commitment that [was] expected when she was orignally hired at the fund's launch." Reading between the lines, however, it's clear that performance also played a factor in Hayes' departure. Hayes was the only pure growth manager in this universe of luminaries and, not surprisingly, her recent performance has been poor -- probably the poorest of the bunch. In fact, over the four years of this fund's existence, Hayes' net contribution to the return of Select International was -0.84%. In other words, the fund would have been better off without her. The folks who run the Masters' funds say they have no plans to replace Hayes, which is somehwhat curious, since that will leave this fund without a true growth manager. As "Bob C" recently noted on the FundAlarm Discussion Board: "The point of Masters' Select, I thought, was to give four of five of the best managers in each asset class an opportunity to put forward their best ideas. Does the current dumping of Hayes mean that when value [becomes] a drag on the portfolio, Masters will [decide to] dump whomever is handling that part of the portfolio? Just a thought..." [11/01]
  
  SSgA funds:
  • Growth and Income: OUT: L. Emerson Tuttle IN: A four-person management team.
    
    
  • International Growth Opportunities: OUT: Edward Allinson IN: A five-person management team.
    
    
  • Special Equity: OUT: David Smith IN: A four-person management team.
  [11/01]
  
  
  
• Originally posted October 2001:
  
  Alger funds: David Alger, president and chief executive officer of the Alger funds, was killed in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Alger was lead manager on all of his firm's funds, with assistance from three different co-managers, all of whom were also killed in the attack. Fred Alger, David's older brother and founder of the firm, has returned from overseas retirement to run the company, and assume the role of president, chairman, and "chief market strategist." Dan Chung, a senior member of the Alger portfolio team and Fred Alger's son-in-law, was not in the World Trade Center at the time of the attack, and Chung is now the firm's Chief Investment Officer. Dave Hyun, who started his career at Alger and left for Oppenheimer Enterprise in July 2000, has rejoined Alger. Hyun will have day-to-day responsibility for several Alger funds, as indicated below. Changes at the Spectra fund, another Alger offering, are discussed below. In addition, David Alger managed or co-managed a number of funds for other firms as subadvisor. To the extent that information is available, changes at these subadvised funds are also indicated below.
  
  The Alger firm lost a total of 35 employees as a result of the WTC attack.
  
  
  • Alger Balanced: David Alger and Ronald Tartaro are replaced by David Hyun and Alison Barbi. [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund managers are now Dan Chung and Alsion Barbi.]
    
    
  • Alger Capital Appreciation: David Alger and Seilai Khoo are replaced by David Hyun and Alison Barbi. [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund manager is now David Hyun.]
    
    
  • Alger LargeCap Growth: See Alger Balanced, above. [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund managers are now Dan Chung and David Hyun.]
    
    
  • Alger MidCap Growth: The Alger Web site does not yet indicate replacements for David Alger and Ronald Tartaro. [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund manager is now Dan Chung.]
    
    
  • Alger Small Cap: The Alger Web site does not yet indicate replacements for David Alger and Bonnie Smithwick. [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund manager is now Jill Greenwald.][10/01]
  
  Citizens International Growth: See Citizens Global Equity, above. [10/01]
  
  Enterprise Global Technology: David Alger is replaced as lead manager by his brother, Fred. Co-manager Dan Chung continues. [10/01]
  
  Enterprise Internet: David Alger is replaced by Fred Alger and Dan Chung. [10/01]
  
  Enterprise Multi-Cap Growth: See Enterprise Internet, above. [10/01]
  
  Harbor Value: Both managers (subadvisors) of this fund are removed (David Tierney, of Richards & Tierney, and Gregory DePrince, of DePrince, Race & Zollo. Jeffrey Shaw, of Armstrong Shaw Associates, takes over. This fund is also changing its name, to Harbor Large Cap Value. [10/01]
  
  Oppenheimer Enterprise: David Hyun leaves as manager. Hyun returns to the Alger funds, where he takes over for staff lost in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Members of the "growth investment team" will run Enterprise in Hyun's absence. [10/01]
  
  Sentinel Flex Cap Opportunity: No replacement has been announced for David Alger. [10/01]
  
  Spectra: David Alger and Seilai Khoo are replaced by David Hyun and Alison Barbi. [10/01] [Update at March 2002: Alger informs us that the new fund manager is now David Hyun.]
  
  SunAmerica Focused Growth: No replacement has been announced for David Alger, who ran a portion of this fund along with Tom Marsico and Sig Segalas. [10/01; Update as of 11/01: Fred Alger replaces David Alger]
  
  Van Kampen High Income Corporate: Robert Hickey leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's headed for Invesco, where he will replace Jerry Paul on two bond funds (Invesco High Yield and Invesco Select Income). Paul announced in April 2001 that he plans to retire in early 2002. [10/01]
  
  William Blair Growth: Gretchen Lash leaves as co-manager. She's headed for Roger Engemann & Associates, which runs several Phoenix-Engemann funds for parent company (surprise!) Phoenix Investment Partners. Lash's co-managers, John Jostrand and Mark Fuller, remain. [10/01]
  
  William Blair Large Cap Growth: Gretchen Lash leaves as co-manager; she's headed for Roger Engemann & Associates. Lash's co-manager, John Jostrand, remains. [10/01]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2001:
  
  American Century Giftrust: Co-managers Chris Boyd, John Seltzer, and Tom Telford will "transition off the team" as new managers are named. The first new manager is Linda Peterson, who also manages American Century Heritage. FundAlarm comments: That commotion you hear is Boyd, Seltzer, and Telford fighting to see who can be first off this eternally-sinking, career-ending ship. Linda Peterson must be working off some bad karma to have earned this assignment. [9/01]
  
  American Century Select: Jerry Sullivan leaves as co-manager, and Ken Crawford remains. Sullivan is headed for American Century Ultra, where he joins a three-person team already in progress. Replacing Sullivan is Tim Reynolds, formerly an analyst on Select. Kim Goodwin joins the Select team as "interim" co-manager "to assist with the transition," which must make rookie Tim Reynolds feel really confident. [9/01]
  
  Evergreen: Jean Ledford resigns as lead manager, and leaves the firm. Richard Welsh, former #2 at this fund, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Back in June 1999, Evergreen lifted Ledford and her team out of American Century, and that was a big deal. Unfortunately, Ledford has been a small deal during her tenure at this fund. Everything about this fund is the same as it was with Ledford, except the putative star is gone. If we owned this fund, and we could escape without a huge tax hit, we'd be gone, too. [9/01]
  
  Evergreen Foundation: Jean Ledford resigns as lead equity manager, and leaves the firm. Richard Welsh, Ledford's former #2 at this fund, takes over the equity portion. The fixed income portion of this fund will be under the control of the Tattersall Group, effective around September 22, 2001. [9/01]
  
  Evergreen Tax Strategic Foundation: Jean Ledford resigns as lead equity manager, and leaves the firm. William Zieff takes over. The municipal bond portion of this fund remains under the management of Matthew Kiselak. [9/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Environmental Services: Ian Gutterman leaves as manager (for Fidelity Select Insurance), and Valerie Larson takes over. [9/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Insurance: Forrest Fontana doesn't make it a year at this fund (gone as manager and gone from the firm). Ian Gutterman takes over. FundAlarm comments: Does Fidelity think that Gutterman's experience analyzing garbage dumps will help him evaluate insurance stocks? Is this a nasty little shot at insurance stocks or, more likely, a completely random manager move in the time-honored Select tradition? [9/01]
  
  Guardian Park Avenue: Previously, this fund was run by a "team of investment professionals." Now, the prospectus lists Richard Goldman as manager, although Morningstar reports that two-thirds of the former team is still intact. Goldman turned in mediocre three- and five-year results at his last retail fund, Smith Barney Diversified Large Cap. [09/01]
  
  Managers Value: Chartwell Investment Partners is fired as one of this fund's subadvisors, and Osprey Partners Investment Management takes over. Armstrong Shaw Associates continues as the other subadvisor. [9/01]
  
  Putnam Voyager: Somewhere between June 18 and July 9, 2001, Robert Beck disappeared from the prospectus as lead manager, apparently retired. Beck was the senior member of this six-person team, which has seen a few changes this year. In April, Charles Swanberg was removed; in May, Michael Nance fled the sinking Kobrick ship to return as one of this fund's co-managers, a position he gave up a couple of years earlier to join Kobrick. [9/01]
  
  SEI Small Cap: Boston Partners Asset Management is fired as one of this fund's sub-advisors. David J. Greene & Co. takes over. [9/01]
  
  T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation: Richard Howard leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's joining a property and casualty insurance company, where he'll be in charge of all the firm's investment assets (zzzzz). Stephen Boesel takes over. FundAlarm comments: Howard ran up an exceptional record in his 12 years as head of this fund. How good was he? Over the past 10 years, this balanced fund (with about 40% in bonds and cash) has trailed the S&P 500 by only about 150 basis points annualized, and it's had about half the volatility of the large-cap benchmark. Boesel ran T. Rowe Price Growth and Income for about 14 years, before bowing out this May. Over that period, Boesel underperformed the S&P 500 by about the same margin that Howard did -- but Boesel was running an all-stock fund for the entire period. A TRP spokesperson says that "shareholders should expect consistency in the fund and the way it's managed," which strikes us as nonsense. Howard was a quirky manager, who relied heavily on convertible bonds and large sector bets. Boesel hasn't shown nearly the same spark. Shareholders should not be surprised if the best days of this fund are over. [9/01]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2001:
  
  American Century Real Estate: Daniel O'Connor leaves as manager. Scott Blasdell and Charles Fitzgerald take over. [8/01]
  
  Dreyfus: Timothy Ghriskey leaves as manager and leaves Dreyfus, to start his own firm. Doug Ramos and Hillary Woods take over. FundAlarm comments: Okay, folks, it's now officially time to take this fund out back and shoot it. Expectations were high when Ghriskey came to this dismal fund in June 1997, but he's basically been a zero. Ramos has turned in a mediocre performance during his time at Dreyfus Growth and Income. Woods has done well at her fund (Dreyfus Emerging Leaders), where she's part of a team, but it's difficult to see how her small-cap experience is going to serve her well at her new charge. This fund is one of the strongest candidates for sale that we've seen in quite a while. [8/01]
  
  Dreyfus Growth Opportunity: Timothy Ghriskey leaves as manager and leaves Dreyfus, to start his own firm. Doug Ramos and Paul Kandel take over. FundAlarm comments: While you're dragging the Dreyfus fund out back, be sure to grab this one, too. Basically, what we said about the Dreyfus fund (above) applies here, too. Ramos has turned in a mediocre performance during his time at Dreyfus Growth and Income. Kandel has done well at his fund (Dreyfus Emerging Leaders), where he's part of a team with Hillary Woods, but it's difficult to see how his small-cap experience is going to serve him here. This fund seems like another strong candidate for sale. [8/01]
  
  Dreyfus Strategic Value: Timothy Ghriskey leaves as manager and leaves Dreyfus, to start his own firm. Doug Ramos takes over. FundAlarm comments: Of all Ghriskey's funds, this was the best performer. But Ramos is still Ramos, which isn't terribly promising. Time to look elsewhere for a value fund? [8/01]
  
  Dreyfus Value: Timothy Ghriskey leaves as manager and leaves Dreyfus, to start his own firm. Doug Ramos takes over. FundAlarm comments: See Dreyfus Large Company Value, above. [8/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Automotive: Douglas Nigen leaves as manager, to take over Fidelity Select Natural Gas. Kelly Cardwell takes over for Nigen. [8/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Business Services and Outsourcing: Simon Wolf leaves as manager, and James Morrow replaces him. [8/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Natural Gas: Christian Zann leaves as manager; Morningstar says that he's moving over to become a tech analyst. Douglas Nigen takes over. [8/01]
  
  Liberty Acorn Foreign Forty: Marcel Houtzager leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. FundAlarm comments: We used to think that "Forty" in the name of this fund referred to the approximate number of stocks that the fund would hold. Now, it appears, "Forty" might actually refer to the number of managers this fund is going to run through in the next year or so. Houtzager's departure follows the March 2001 departure of his co-manager, Roger Edgley, which follows the departure of another Acorn manager (Margaret Forster) several months before that. As we noted when Edgley left, Liberty bought the Acorn funds in June 2000 and, even though Acorn managers allegedly signed five-year employment contracts, they keep bailing out. We have to wonder if all of the Acorn managers really did sign contracts. And, if they did, we have to wonder how bad things have become to make three managers break those contracts and flee so soon. Either way, things don't look good at Liberty Acorn. [8/01]
  
  Mutual Series: Numerous manager changes at the following funds: Mutual Beacon, Mutual Discovery, Mutual European, Mutual Financial Services, Mutual Qualified, Mutual Shares. If we tried to explain all the changes in words, your head would explode, so here's a summary in table form that will make your head explode:
  
  

  Mutual Series fund	Current managers	New managers (effective August 1, 2001; continuing personnel in green)
  Mutual Beacon	Lawrence Sondike (Co-Manager) David Winters (Co-Manager)	David Winters (Co-Manager) Matthew Haynes (Co-Manager)
  Mutual Discovery	David Winters (Manager) Timothy Rankin (Assistant Manager)	David Winters (Manager) Timothy Rankin (Assistant Manager)
  Mutual European	Robert Friedman (Manager) David Winters (Assistant Manager)	David Winters (Co-Manager) Matthew Haynes (Co-Manager)
  Mutual Financial Services	Raymond Garea (Manager) Joshua Ross (Assistant Manager)	Raymond Garea (Manager) Joshua Ross (Assistant Manager) Jeff Diamond (Assistant Manager)
  Mutual Qualified	Raymond Garea (Manager) Jeff Diamond (Assistant Manager)	Jeff Diamond (Co-Manager) Susan Potto (Co-Manager)
  Mutual Shares	Lawrence Sondike (Manager) Susan Potto (Assistant Manager)	David Winters (Co-Manager) Lawrence Sondike (Co-Manager) Timothy Rankin (Assistant Manager) Deborah Turner (Assistant Manager)

  
  FundAlarm comments: Garea (Financial Services) is scheduled to leave the firm September 30, 2001, so we don't know why they even bothered listing him. Friedman is gone already, and Sondike will soon be "transitioning from day-to-day management" in order to do more lucrative things than managing a plain-vanilla mutual fund (can anyone say "hedge fund"?). In other words, these are mostly new funds in a mostly new firm. If we owned any of these funds, we wouldn't sell immediately, but we'd be watching very closely. The fact that Michael Price once strode these halls, and sprinkled manager dust on everyone, means almost nothing now. [8/01]
  
  RS Information Age: Ron Elijah and Rod Berry leave as managers. Jim Callinan and Steven Bishop take over. [8/01]
  
  RS Value + Growth: Ron Elijah and Rod Berry leave as managers. A team led by John Wallace takes over. [8/01]
  
  Security Growth and Income: Timothy Ghriskey, of Dreyfus, has subadvised this fund since January 2001. Now that Ghriskey is leaving Dreyfus (see above), this fund is presumably in line for another manager change. However, as of July 29, 2001, there have been no SEC filings. [8/01]
  
  Touchstone Emerging Growth: Subadvisor David L. Babson & Company is fired, and TCW takes over the value portion of this fund. Westfield Capital Management continues as manager of the growth portion. [8/01]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2001:
  
  BlackRock Mid-Cap Growth: Amy Hogan leaves as lead manager. Co-managers William Wykle and Thomas Callan remain, joined by Jean Rosenbaum. [7/01]
  
  BlackRock Small-Cap Growth: Amy Hogan leaves as lead manager. Co-managers William Wykle and Thomas Callan remain, joined by Jean Rosenbaum and Michael Carey. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Aggressive Growth: Beso Sikharulidze leaves as manager, and Rajiv Kaul replaces him. Sikharulidze takes over Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Mid-Cap: David Felman leaves the fund, and leaves the firm. He's headed for a hedge fund, Andor Capital Management, which sounds like a name out of Star Trek ("Captain Kirk, come quickly! The money managers from the planet Andor are attacking, and their calculators are set on kill!") Peter Saperstone takes over for Felman. FundAlarm comments: Felman is also leaving Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock (below), but a different manager (Beso Sikharulidze) is replacing him there. Fidelity usually assigns the same manager to the "Advisor" version of each fund, so it's not clear why Sikharulidze didn't also draw the management assignment for this fund. Fidelity's decision is especially curious, since Saperstone is leaving a fund (Fidelity Convertible Securities) that he's only run for about seven months, and even Fidelity has to be a little bit sensitive about needlessly creating additional manager turnover. We can only speculate that Saperstone wasn't happy at Convertible Securities, or Fidelity wasn't happy with him. Or, perhaps, Saperstone wanted a meatier equity assignment -- but, if that's the case, why didn't he also get the non-Advisor version of Mid Cap, which went to Sikharulidze? (Or, we can forget about this useless speculation, and ponder something important. Do you think Barry Bonds is gonna break McGwire's home run record?) [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income: John Carlson steps down as lead manager, in order to free up time for his duties as new lead manager of Fidelity Emerging Markets. William Eigen takes over for Carlson, assisted by a team of four (which, just to make things complicated, still consists of Carlson on emerging market debt securities). [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Technology (three entries): Lawrence Rakers leaves the fund, and Christopher Zepf takes over.[7/01]
  
  Fidelity Convertible Securities: Peter Saperstone leaves as manager, after about seven months on the job. He's headed for Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap. Lawrence Rakers takes over. FundAlarm comments: There have been six different managers of this fund since early 1995, and the fund is still one of the top performers in its peer group over the same period. Theoretically, managers of specialized funds like this shouldn't be fungible commodities but, so far at least, it doesn't seem to matter who runs it. However, we do have some doubts about Rakers. What's going on with his career? Rakers comes to this fund from Fidelity Select Technology and Fidelity Advisor Technology, where he managed the third-largest pot of technology-fund assets in the country (only T. Rowe Price Science and Technology and Fidelity Select Electronics are larger). Even if Rakers plans to focus on technology convertibles, this new assignment sure looks like a demotion for him. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity International Bond: John Carlson steps down as lead manager, in order to free up time for his duties as new lead manager of Fidelity Emerging Markets. William Eigen takes over for Carlson. Eigen will be assisted by a team of two, including Carlson on emerging market debt securities. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock: David Felman resigns from the fund, and leaves the firm. A hedge fund is in his future (see Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap, above). Beso Sikharulidze takes over for Felman. FundAlarm comments: Sikharulidze is rapidly becoming Fidelity's can-do manager. Give him a transportation fund: Can do. Make him a specialist in Eastern European stocks: Can do. Give him a couple of health care funds, or a convertible securities fund: Can do. But can he do a diversified mid-cap fund? Perhaps, but there's nothing in his background to insprire great confidence. If we owned this fund, we'd be inclined to give Mr. S. a chance, but not for long. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Computers: Lawrence Rakers leaves as manager, and Telis Bertsekas takes over. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Developing Communications: Rjaiv Kaul is out, and Shep Perkins is in. Kaul is moving over to Fidelity Advisor Aggressive Growth. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Technology: Lawrence Rakers steps down as manager, and Christopher Zepf takes over. [7/01]
  
  Fidelity Strategic Income: See Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income, above. [7/01]
  
  Hancock Mid Cap Growth: Barbara Friedman is out as manager. A "team" is now responsible for "day-to-day investment management," according to an unilluminating prospectus supplement filed by Hancock. FundAlarm comments: Except for 1999, when even Raven the monkey was picking winning stocks, this fund has been a disaster under Friedman's management. "Team" management, in this case, suggests life support, and nothing more. If you can get out, you might want to think about it. [7/01]
  
  Mercury HW International: Three members of the management team (Sarah Ketterer, Harry Hartford, and James Doyle) leave to start their own firm. James MacMillan (Merrill Lynch EuroFund) takes over. [7/01]
  
  Munder Micro-Cap Equity: Jeffrey Schwartz leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Carl Wilk, the other half of the management team, now has primary responsibility for this fund. [7/01]
  
  State Street Research High Income: Kim Peters leaves as manager (after seven months), leaves the firm, and leaves the investment management business. Two managers from the institutional side take over. [7/01]
  
  Vanguard U.S. Growth: Lincoln Capital Management is fired as outside manager, and a team from Alliance Capital Management (John Blundin and Christopher Toub) takes over. FundAlarm comments: Lincoln Capital committed the undpardonable sin (for a Vanguard manager) of changing its investment approach in mid-stream -- mid-stream, in this case, being the year 2000, when Lincoln went a-shopping for Internet stocks and got a-nnihilated. Alliance has not been known recently for the quality of its large-cap growth funds, so Vanguard's choice is curious. Blundin and Toub come from the private account side of Alliance, so maybe that's where the good managers work. Or maybe Vanguard needs to get more imaginative and/or creative and/or bold in its choice of outside managers. [7/01]
  
  WM Growth Fund of the Northwest: David Simpson resigns as manager, and leaves WM for places unknown. Taking over is "a team of investment professionals led by Randall L.Yoakum." FundAlarm comments: This quirky fund posted some spectacular numbers under Simpson, and he will be missed. Yoakum has a decent short-term track record at several other WM funds, so investors in this fund might want to give him a chance. [7/01]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2001:
  
  Fidelity Advisor Latin America: See Fidelity Latin America, below. [6/01]
  
  Fidelity Emerging Markets: Patricia Satterthwaite, a 15-year [!] Fidelity veteran, leaves as manager and leaves the firm. She wants to spend more time with (you pick it): (1) A hedge fund or (2) Her family. (In this case, (2) is the correct answer.) John Carlson, an international bond fund [!] manager, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Fidelity may be a firm with vast resources, but the emerging markets sector apparently doesn't deserve much of them. Perhaps there's a good reason to assign a bond manager to run a stock fund. Or, perhaps Fidelity is just being cheap, and Fidelity doesn't feel like developing talent in this less-than-hot area. Wouldn't it be nice if investors could figure out the real explanation? [6/01]
  
  Fidelity Latin America: Patricia Satterthwaite leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Margaret Reynolds, a former analyst, takes over. [6/01]
  
  GAM American Focus: Fayez Sarofim is removed as manager. Sarofim runs his own money management firm, which is looking for a buyer, and he apparently didn't care much about building the assets of this fund. GAM USA, an in-house investment group, takes over. [6/01]
  
  MassMutual Institutional Growth Equity: See MFS Mass Investors Growth, below. [6/01]
  
  MFS Mass Investors Growth: Thomas Barrett leaves as co-manager, to join a hedge fund. An MFS spokesman said that he didn't know the name of the hedge fund. (Yeah, right.) Barrett was reportedly responsible for about 15% of this fund's portfolio. Lead manager Stephen Pesek remains. [6/01]
  
  MFS New Discovery: Brain Stack leaves as manager, and leaves the firm to "pursue other interests" (OK, it's a hedge fund). Neil Wagner takes over. [6/01]
  
  Selected Special: Elizabeth Bramwell "resigns" as manager, in order to devote more attention to funds under her own label (Bramwell Focus, Bramwell Growth). Selected Special will now be run by a "team of senior portfolio managers and research analysts from the research department of Davis Selected Advisors." FundAlarm comments: Perhaps Bramwell "resigned," perhaps not. She had run this fund as a subadvisor for almost seven years, with mediocre results. The folks who run the Selected funds (Shelby Davis and his son, Christopher) may have decided that their home-grown investment team can be slightly less mediocre than Bramwell. Even better, the Davis clan can now keep 100% of the management fee, instead of splitting it with Bramwell. [6/01]
  
  Third Avenue Real Estate: Martin Whitman steps down as co-manager, leaving Michael Winer in charge. FundAlarm comments: See comments for Third Avenue Small-Cap Value, below. [6/01]
  
  Third Avenue Small-Cap Value: Martin Whitman steps down as co-manager, leaving Curtis Jensen in charge. FundAlarm comments: The 76-year old Whitman has one eye on a smooth succession, which is apparently why he's leaving this fund. But Whitman's other eye will remain focused on Third Avenue Value, where Whitman will stay on as manager. The official word is that nothing will change at Small-Cap Value, or at Third Avenue Real Estate (above), where Whitman is also stepping down. If that's true, then why didn't Whitman also quit as manager of Third Avenue Value? Whitman is doing the right thing by planning for the future, but clearly his presence at Third Avenue Value -- and his absence at Small-Cap Value -- means something. If we owned this fund, we'd still feel like we were getting the short end of the Whitman stick. [6/01]
  
  Wells Fargo International Equity: Katherine Schapiro and Stacy Ho leave as managers; they are headed for the Strong funds, where they will take over three offerings: Strong International, Strong Overseas, and Strong Foreign MajorMarkets. The new manager of this fund, Cynthia Tusan, was previously a research analyst. [6/01]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2001:
  
  Evergreen Capital Growth: The entire in-house management team suddenly feels the need to pursue other interests. A team of PBHG fund managers, Raymond McCaffrey and Jerome Heppelmann, are hired as subadvisors. FundAlarm comments: Given the recent revolving door for fund managers at PBHG, that firm seems like an odd place to look for a subadvisor. To ensure continuity, maybe Evergreen has chained McCaffrey and Heppelmann to their desks. [5/01]
  
  Fidelity Adv Diversified Intl: See Fidelity Diversified Intl, below. [5/01]
  
  Fidelity Adv TechnoQuant Growth: See Fidelity TechnoQuant Growth, below. [5/01]
  
  Fidelity Diversified Intl: Greg Fraser leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He's starting his own hedge fund with Timothy Krochuk (formerly of Fidelity TechnoQuant Growth). William Bower, formerly of Fidelity International Growth and Income, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Fraser is a quant jock, which is why he's joining up with Timothy Krochuk of TechnoQuant Growth (perhaps the ultimate quant jock fund name). As a quant jock, Fraser posted a terrific record in the almost-ten years that he ran this fund. Fidelity's Web site still implies that this fund will be run with a quantitative bent, but that seems highly unlikely given that Bower has no quantitative background. Basically, this is a new fund, run by a manager who has performed respectably over the past three years, but only about half as well as Fraser did. [5/01]
  
  Fidelity International Growth and Income: William Bower leaves as manager, to head up Fidelity Diversified Intl. Penelope Dobkin replaces Bowers. [5/01]
  
  Fidelity Worldwide: Penelope Dobkin leaves as co-manager, for Fidelity Intl Growth and Income. Richard Mace takes from Dobkin as manager of the non-US portion of this fund, while Doug Chase remains as co-manager for domestic equities. [5/01]
  
  Gabelli Westwood Balanced: Patricia Fraze leaves as the manager of the bond portion of this fund. Mark Freeman takes over. [5/01]
  
  GAM Global: Jean-Philippe Cremers is removed as lead manager. Venkat Chidambaram takes over. FundAlarm comments: See GAM International, below. [5/01]
  
  GAM International: Jean-Philippe Cremers is removed as lead manager. John Bennett and Michael Bunker replace him. FundAlarm comments: Cremers took over in July 1999 and, in February 2000, the bottom fell out. The bottom hasn't been found since. This fund was a serious laggard for at least a year under Cremers' predecessor, John Horseman, so shareholders have now suffered through almost 36 months of mediocre-to-dismal performance. If we owned this fund in a non-taxable account, or if we could sell this fund with minimal capital gains in a taxable account, we'd get out now. [5/01]
  
  Pioneer Balanced: An in-house team is fired as manager. A team from Prudential Investment Corporation takes over as subadvisor, effective May 1, 2001. Instead of a predetermined equity/bond split (60%/40%), this fund will be more actively-managed, and portfolio allocation percentages will vary depending on perceived market conditions. [5/01]
  
  Pioneer Europe: Patrick Smith leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. A team from UniCredito Italiano, which acquired Pioneer in late 2000, takes over from from Smith. FundAlarm comments: Hmm, this sure looks like the first fallout from Pioneer's takeover. Bet there's more to come. [5/01]
  
  Putnam mini-massacre: As part of a "streamlining" process, Putnam fired five co-managers at several different funds. In each case, the respective fund will still have several remaining team members:
  
  

  Putnam fund	Co-manager who got the axe
  Voyager; Voyager II; New Century Growth	Charles Swanberg
  Health Sciences	David Carlson
  Convertible Income-Growth	Charles Pohl
  Emerging Markets	Claudio Brocado
  Vista	Anthony Santosus

  [5/01]
  Putnam Balanced Retirement: David King leaves as interim lead manager (since April 2000), and Jeffrey Knight takes over. [5/01]
  
  Putnam Diversified Income: See Putnam High Yield II, below. [5/01]
  
  Putnam Equity Income: David King leaves as interim lead manager (since April 2000) and Bartlett Geer takes over. [5/01]
  
  Putnam High Yield II: Jennifer Leichter leaves as manager (fired?), and leaves the firm. Stephen Peacher takes over. [5/01]
  
  RS MicroCap Growth: Dave Evans and Rainerio Reyes leave as managers, and Bill Wolfenden takes over. Evans and Reyes will devote their time to private accounts. Wolfenden, who comes from Dresdner RCM Global Investors, has never managed a mutual fund before, although he does have private account experiene. FundAlarm comments: Why does it seem like fund investors are getting the short end of the stick here? Two managers with a decent multi-year track record get kicked upstairs, so they can do more lucrative work than managing a retail mutual fund. A manager with no mutual fund track gets put in their place, and investors are asked to take it on faith that he'll do a good job. Typical fund company high-handedness. [5/01]
  
  Smith Barney Large Cap Value: Ellen Sonsino leaves as lead manager. Her replacement is Giri Bogavelli. [5/01]
  
  State Street Research Aurora: Rudy Kluiber leaves as manager, destination unknown. John Burbank takes over. Burbank also takes over as head of the firm's Small Cap Value Team. FundAlarm comments: This manager change is a big deal. Kluiber has been in charge for over six years, and he's posted an exceptional performance record -- even more remarkable, when you consider that this fund's investment style and category (small/mid-cap blend) has been out of favor for so many of Kluiber's years. Burbank has been a member of Kluiber's team since January 1998, but he's not Kluiber, and that pretty much says it all. If we owned this fund, we wouldn't sell immediately, especially if we had paid a load, or if we were subject to a sales charge. But we'd definitely put this one on our watch list, and seriously reevaluate in nine to 12 months. [5/01]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2001:
  
  Accessor Value (all classes): Martingale Asset Management, a sub-advisor, is fired. Doris Dwyer Chu, of Wellington Asset Management, takes over. Chu also runs Activa Value (since December 1999), where she has done a decent job. [4/01]
  
  Fremont Real Estate Securities: Subadvisors John Kramer and Paul Gray, of the Kensington Investment Group, are fired. Kenneth Rosen and Michael Torres, of Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities, are the new managers. [4/01]
  
  Liberty Acorn Foreign Forty: Roger Edgley leaves as manager, and also leaves the firm. (Edgley was also head of Acorn's international research team). Co-manager Marcel Houtzager will manage the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: Let's see: Liberty bought the Acorn funds in June 2000 and, even though Acorn managers allegedly signed five-year employment contracts, two have already left (Edgley and Margaret Forster, several months ago). We have to wonder if all of the Acorn managers really did sign contracts. And, if they did, we have to wonder how bad things have become to make two managers break those contracts and bail out so quickly. Either way, things do not look good at Liberty Acorn. [4/01]
  
  Merrill Lynch Disciplined Equity (all classes): George Burwell leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Burwell is replaced by James Ellman, who also manages Merrill Lynch Global Financial Services. [4/01]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2001:
  
  Alliance (all classes): Bruce Aronow leaves as manager, after a tenure of about 12 months. He's replaced by the team of Michael Keohane and Tara Yeager. [3/01]
  
  Diversified Investors Equity Growth: Montag & Caldwell (Ron Canakaris) is fired as one of the fund's two managers (technically, subadvisors). Montag & Caldwell is replaced by Marsico Capital Management (Tom Marsico) and Ark Asset Management. Dresdner RCM Global Investors remains as the other manager/subadvisor. FundAlarm comments: This month's Highlights & Commentary talks about the "multimanager exemption," which effectively robs shareholders of any voice in management changes at certain funds. That's exactly what happened here. The fund's directors unilaterally decided to fire one manager and hire two new ones. The fund was nice enough to tell shareholders what happened, after the fact, but that's the extent of shareholder voice -- i.e., none. [3/01]
  
  Fidelity Advisor High Income: David L. Glancy leaves as manager; he will continue to manage three other Fidelity funds: Capital & Income, Leveraged Company Stock, and Advisor Leveraged Company Stock. Replacing Glancy is Matthew J. Conti, who continues to manage the high-yield portions of the Fidelity Asset Manager funds, as well as Advisor Asset Allocation. [3/01]
  
  Fidelity Freedom (all:2000/2010/2020/2030/2040/Income): Scott Stewart leaves as co-manager, to teach a college class and "spend more time with his family." Stewart's former co-manager, Ren Cheng, will run these funds solo. [3/01]
  
  Heartland High-Yield Muncipal Bond: Philip Fiskow leaves as manager, after about four months on the job. Co-managers Derek Pawlak and Greg Winston will stick around to turn out the lights. FundAlarm comments: Back in October, this fund suffered the biggest devaluation in mutual history. Apparently without a gun to his head, Fiskow took over from the previous manager, shortly after the bad news hit the fan. Fiskow's departure now should probably be interpreted as a very, very bad sign. Or, perhaps Fiskow is simply looking for an easier job, like image consultant for fugitive billionaire Marc Rich. [3/01]
  
  Liberty Acorn International: Margaret Forster leaves as co-manager, to spend more time with her family -- a reason that is almost as popular this year, it seems, as hedge funds were last year. Co-manager Leah Zell will run this fund solo, at least for a while. [3/01]
  
  MSDW Developing Growth (all classes): Armon Bar-Tur is removed as manager, and Arden Armstrong takes over. FundAlarm comments: When Bar-Tur took over this fund, in July 1999, here's what we had to say: "...And who's Armon Bar-Tur, and why would you want to hold a fund from a brokerage firm run by an unknown manager?" Ladies and gentlemen, can you say "prescient?" This fund stumbled seriously in 2000, and MSDW apparently decided that it had seen enough. Armstrong, best know for her work at MAS Mid Cap Growth, is a genuine star, and terrific news for shareholders of Developing Growth. A "hold" if there ever was one. [3/01]
  
  Munder Equity Income (all classes): Geoffrey Wilson leaves as co-manager. His replacement is John Adams, who joins Otto G. Hinzmann, co-manager since February 1995. [3/01]
  
  Putnam Global Natural Resources (all classes): Dolores Bamford leaves as lead manager, and Kevin Divney takes over. Divney will work with James Falvey, who has been co-manager since October, 2000. [3/01]
  
  Royce Micro-Cap: Charles Royce resigns as co-manager, leaving Whitney George to run the fund solo. FundAlarm comments: And not a word about the change on the Royce funds Web site -- not under "What's New," not under "In the News," not under "Recent Developments," not under "About Royce." Maybe Royce needs to create a new Web site category: "Information We're Keeping Secret From Our Investors, The People Who Enable Us to Live a Lavish Lifestyle, But Don't Deserve To Be Told What's Happening With Their Money." [3/01]
  
  T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value: Greg McCrickard leaves as manager, and David Wallack takes over. [3/01]
  
  Mid Cap Growth (all classes): Zachary Shafran leaves as manager, for Waddell & Reed Advisors Science & Technology (see above). Kimberly Scott, a former analyst with no fund management experience, takes over. [3/01]
  
  W&R Science & Technology : See Waddell & Reed Advisors Science & Technology, below. [3/01]
  
  Waddell & Reed Advisors New Concepts (all classes): See W&R Advisors Mid Cap Growth, above. [3/01]
  
  Waddell & Reed Advisors Science & Technology : Henry Hermann leaves as manager, and Zachary Shafran takes over. Shafran was manager of Waddell & Reed New Concepts and W&R Mid Cap Growth, both of which he is leaving. [3/01]
  
  WM Equity Income: Randy Yoakum, WM chief investment officer, leaves as interim manager. Richard Helm takes the, er, helm. [Change occurred 3/01; reported 7/01]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2001:
  
  Alliance Growth (all classes): Tyler Smith leaves as manager. He is replaced by the team of Jane Mack Gould and Alan Levi. FundAlarm comments: Over the past five years, Smith consistently trailed the large-cap benchmark, but he wasn't quite bad enough to send investors fleeing in droves. Gould has been managing Paine Webber Pace Large Cap Growth Equity since late 1997, and she has turned in a mediocre performance. There seems no particular reason for investors to expect more from the Gould/Levi team than they got from Smith. Perhaps it's time to take some investment advice from the great Smokey Robinson: "My mama told me/You better shop around."[2/01]
  
  RiverSource International (all classes): Peter Lamaison and Ian King leave as managers. They are replaced by a three-person team. [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Air Transportation: Jeffrey Feingold leaves as manager, and Matthew Fruhan takes over [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Defense and Aerospace: Jeffrey Feingold leaves as manager, and Matthew Fruhan takes over [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Food and Agriculture: Matthew Fruhan leaves as manager, and Gail Bronwyn Lese takes over. FundAlarm comments: Interesting. New manager Lese is apparently a former practicing medical doctor. You'd think that Fidelity might let her manage a fund where her background would be directly applicable, like Select Medical Delivery. Oh, wait: Humans eat food, and doctors work with humans, so the Food and Agriculture fund is close enough. [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Home Finance: Victor Thay leaves as manager, and Jeffrey Feingold takes over. [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Leisure: Michael Tarlowe leaves as manager, and he also leaves the firm. Charles Hebard takes over. [2/01]
  
  Fidelity Select Multimedia: Michael Tarlowe leaves as manager, and he also leaves the firm. Victor Thay takes over. [2/01]
  
  RS Internet Age: Cathy Baker leaves as manager, to "spend more time with her family." Jim Callinan will continue with the fund, as solo manager. FundAlarm comments:

  "Mommy, what did you do when you were working?" "I managed a mutual fund, honey. It went very, very, high. Then it fell down, and made a big boom. And that's when people started giving Mommy demerits." "I like it better when you're here with me." "Believe me, honey, I do too."

  [2/01]
  
  Reserve Large Cap Growth: Frederick Thorne leave as manager (technically, sub advisor) after a Fidelity Select-like tenure of only 10 months. Richard Steinberg, of Steinberg Global Asset Management, replaces Thorne as manager/sub-advisor. [2/01]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2001:
  
  Enterprise Managed (all classes): Oppenheimer Capital is fired as one of this fund's two outside co-managers, and Wellington Management is hired as the replacement. Sanford C. Bernstein & Company continues to manage the other portion of the fund's portfolio. [1/01]
  
  Fidelity Select: It's a new year, but it's still manager shuffling as usual at the Fidelity Select funds. In one case below (Construction and Housing), the manager actually lasted longer than 12 months. Huzzah!
  
  
  • Cyclical Industries: OUT: Brian Hogan IN: Pratima Abichandani
    
    
  • Medical Delivery: OUT: Pratima Abichandani IN: Sanjeev Makan
    
    
  • Industrial Materials: OUT: Neil Marotta IN: Mark Schmehl
    
    
  • Construction and Housing: OUT: Brian Hogan IN: Joshua Spencer
    
    
  [1/01]
  
  Janus Overseas: Laurence Chang leaves as co-manager. Brett Lynn replaces him, joining lead manager Helen Young Hayes. Chang remains as co-manager of Janus Worldwide, also with Hayes. [1/01]
  
  Janus Venture: Jonathan Coleman leaves as co-manager, after about a year on the job. Will Bales now runs this fund solo. FundAlarm comments: If two heads are better than one, and two heads have managed to fly this fund straight into the ground, why should investors be encouraged now that only one head is in charge? The offical Janus party line is that Coleman is being relocated to the flagship Janus fund in order to bolster its research staff, now that Jon Schreiber has moved from the research staff to the management seat at Janus 2. Hey, how's this for a gag: As Coleman leaves the Venture fund, let's present him with a bill for $400 million. This is half of the $800 million that we estimate Coleman has lost for fund investors this year, based on the performance of Janus Venture compared to the average small-cap growth fund. [1/01]
  
  Legg Mason Special Investment (all classes): Bill Miller leaves as co-manager. Lisa Rapuano will now run this fund solo. [1/01]
  
  MAS Value (all classes): Robert Marcin retires as lead manager. Former co-manager Richard Behler will run the fund solo, assisted by the firm's large-cap investment team. [1/01]
  
  Merrill Lynch Dragon (all classes): Kara Tan Bhala leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Grace Pineda and Louis Mendes take over. Pineda will remain as lead manager of the Merrill Lynch Developing Capital Markets Fund. Mendes has been an analyst on Dragon since 1993. [1/01]
  
  Merrill Lynch Latin America (all classes): Grace Pineda leaves as manager, for Merrill Lynch Dragon (above). Orlando Muyshondt, and analyst on this fund since 1994, takes over. [1/01]
  
  Pioneer Growth (all classes): Jeff Poppenhagen leaves as manager and leaves the firm. Eric Weigel (Pioneer Mid Cap) takes over. [1/01]
  
  SSgA Aggressive Equity: Richard Weed leaves as lead manager, and Susan Reigel replaces him. [1/01]
  
  Templeton funds: Mark Holowesko leaves as lead manager of the following funds, effective January 1, 2001. Holowesko is being kicked upstairs to a new Templeton subsidiary, where he will focus on hedge funds and institutional products.
  
  
  • Templeton Foreign (all classes): OUT: A team led by Holowesko. IN: Jeff Everett (lead manager), Dale Winner, Murdo Murchison.
    
    
  • Templeton Growth (all classes):OUT: A team led by Holowesko. IN: Murdo Murchison (lead manager), Jeff Everett, Dale Winner.
    
    
  • Templeton International (all classes):OUT: A team led by Holowesko. IN: Dale Winner (lead manager), George Morgan, Jeff Everett.
    
    FundAlarm comments: Holowesko's move may be good for Holowesko and Templeton (asset gathering, product development, and all that blather), but it's difficult to see how investors will benefit. If Holowesko was the best person to run these funds, and he's no longer running them, then somebody less talented must now be in charge. (Please, Templeton PR people who read this column, tell me where my logic is faulty.) If Holowesko wasn't the best person to run these funds, then why did he keep his job so long, and why was he marketed so heavily as a Templeton guru? If these new managers trained under Holowesko, and they follow the same investing principles as Holowesko, aren't they likey to continue posting the same mediocre performance numbers that Holowesko has been posting over the past few years? If we owned this fund in a taxable account, we'd probably give the new managers six months or so to show what they can do. In a non-taxable account, we'd be gone. [1/01]
  
  
• Originally posted December 2000:
  
  Atlas Emerging Growth A: Jay Tracey leaves as manager. He is replaced by Laura Granger, who recently joined Oppenheimer (this fund's subadvisor) from Fortis. [12/00]
  
  RiverSource Diversified Equity Income (all classes): See RiverSource Equity Value, below. [12/00]
  
  RiverSource Equity Value (all classes): Keith Tufte leaves as manager. Warren Spitz, who left Pruudential Equity Income in May (below), takes over. [12/00]
  
  Franklin Biotech Discovery A: Kurt Von Emster leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. He's joining a venture capital firm that specializes in fledgling biotech companies. Taking over for Von Emster is former co-manager Evan McCulloch, who will be joined by Paul Walker and Jake Nunn. FundAlarm comments: Von Emster was a star with this fund, and it will almost certainly suffer from his absence. But what to do? If you paid a load to get in, and if you've held this fund for a while in a taxable account, you're facing a potential double-whammy: Loss of the commission dollars you paid, and potentially huge capital gains. In any type of account, we'd give the new managers some time to show what they can do (nine to 12 months seems reasonable). In a taxable account, especially with large built-in gains, we'd be inclined to cut them even more slack. [12/00]
  
  Franklin Global Healthcare (all classes): Kurt Von Emster leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. He's joining a venture capital firm that specializes in fledgling biotech companies. Taking over for Von Emster is Jake Nunn, who will be joined by Paul Walker and Evan McCulloch. FundAlarm comments: Is this the same Von Emster who ran Franklin Biotech Discovery (above)? This fund has turned in benchmark-beating performance over the past 12 months, but it has put up relatively poor performance numbers over the past three years and five years. Von Emster wasn't particularly effective timing his moves among the various health care sectors and, in recent years, he overweighted the fund with small-caps. As with Franklin Biotech Discovery, above, we'd be inclined to hold this fund for at least nine to 12 months, and give the new managers a chance. But after the trial period, it would be on a much shorter leash. [12/00]
  
  Mercury HW Balanced I: Roger DeBard retires as portfolio manager. The equity portion of this fund will now be run by Sheldon Lieberman, who will coninue as manager of the Mercury HW Equity Income Fund. [Change effective July 1, 2000; posted 12/00]
  
  Undiscovered Managers International Equity (all classes): Daniel Broby leaves as lead manager. He is headed for Bankinvest A/S (Denmark), where he will be Chief Investment Officer. Broby's replacement has not been announced. This fund is run by a large team, so presumably one of the current team members will step forward to replace Broby. [12/00]
  
  Originally posted November 2000:
  
  Seligman Global Growth: Jack Chang resigns as manager of this fund's foreign stock component, and he leaves the firm. David Cooley, from Armada International Equity, takes over. [11/00]
  
  Seligman International Growth: See Seligman Global Growth, above. [11/00]
  
  
• Originally posted October 2000:
  
  Baron Growth: Matt Ervin leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. He is starting a wireless company. Ron Baron continues as co-manager, assisted (as before) by Mitch Rubin. [10/00]
  
  Baron iOpportunity: Matt Ervin leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Mitch Rubin stays with the fund, and he will run it solo. FundAlarm comments: Mitch Rubin claims that he was responsible for 95% of the trades made by this fund, even when Ervin was officially co-manager, so it looks like Ervin won't be missed. (Well, maybe when Rubin needs someone to grab a latte.) Why do we think that Ervin has a different view of his role?[10/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Telecomm & Utils Growth (all classes): Peter Saperstone leaves as manager, and Timothy Cohen replaces him. Cohen's most recent experience has been as manager of Fidelity Select Insurance, which he is leaving after an exhausting tenure of 18 months. Saperstone is moving over to Convertible Securities, where he will be a co-manager. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Biotechnology: Yolanda McGettigan leaves as manager, after about eight months on the job. Brian Younger takes over. McGettigan will continue to manage two other Fidelity funds, Select Health Care and Advisor Health Care. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Brokerage and Investment Management: Ted Orenstein leaves as manager, in order to assume a position about as far away from the brokerage industry as you can get: Equity research analyst following semiconductor capital equipment companies. Orenstein's replacement is Jennifer Nettesheim but, honestly, who cares except Jennifer's immediate family? [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Insurance: Timothy Cohen leaves as manager, and Forrest Fontana takes over. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Medical Equipment and Systems: Kerry Nelson leaves as manager. Her replacement is Christine Schaulat, who presumably developed her medical expertise as manager of Fidelity Select Banking (January 1998 to April 1999), and her more recent work covering Internet stocks. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Telecommunications: Peter Saperstone leaves as manager, and Timothy Cohen replaces him. Cohen's most recent experience has been as manager of Fidelity Select Insurance, which he is leaving after an exhausting tenure of 18 months. Saperstone is moving over to Convertible Securities, where he will be a co-manager. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Transportation: Jeffrey Feingold leaves as manager. He will continue to manage Select Air Transportation and Select Defense and Aerospace. Feingold's replacement is Ian Gutterman, who continues to manage Select Environmental Services. [10/00]
  
  Fidelity Utilities: See Fidelity Select Telecommunications, above. [10/00]
  
  Firstar Emerging Growth (all classes): Gary Hurlbut and Robert Anthony leave as managers. They are replaced by another team, David Lettenberger and John Potter. [10/00]
  
  Putnam Europe Growth (all classes): Nigel Hart leaves the four-person team that manages this fund, and he also leaves the firm. [10/00]
  
  Putnam International Voyager (all classes): Nigel Hart leaves the four-person team that manages this fund, and he also leaves the firm. It's been a couple of months since we mentioned "hedge fund" on this page, so it's nice to know that they're still around. Hart is joining one. FundAlarm comments: Hart's official Putnam bio describes him as "a key member of the management team for Putnam International Voyager Fund." Now that he's gone, this "key" thing was, of course, never true. Hart will barely be missed, and few even remember what he did. In fact, Mitch Rubin (of Baron iOpportunity, above) now claims that he did 95% of Hart's work, too. [10/00]
  
  Quantitative International Equity (all classes): Independence International Associates is fired as manager (subadvisor). State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) replaces them. [10/00]
  
  
• Originally posted September 2000:
  
  Liberty (all classes): Peter Wiley leaves as manager. Harvery Hirschhorn and Leslie Finnemore replace him. [9/00]
  
  Liberty Growth and Income(all classes): Mark Stoekle leaves as manager. His replacement is Scott Schermerhorn. [9/00]
  
  Liberty Select Value (all classes): Jim Haynie and Mike Rega get the joint heave-ho. Dan Cantor and Jeff Kinzel step in as co-managers. [9/00]
  
  Liberty Small Cap Value (all classes): See Liberty Select Value, above. [9/00]
  
  The Pilgrim Purge: Nicholas-Applegate is fired as day-to-day manager (technically, subadvisor) of the following funds. All classes of each fund are affected. All new managers are employees of Pilgrim:
  
  
  
  • Pilgrim Convertible: Andrew Chow is the new lead manager. Chow joined Pilgrim in August 2000; previously, he was in charge of the Conseco Convertible Securities Fund.
    
    
  • Pilgrim Emerging Countries: Richard Saler and Philip Schwartz take over. Saler is currently lead manager of Pilgrim International (formerly Lexington International), where he has done a respectable job. Ah, but irony of ironies: Saler also ran an emerging markets fund (Lexington Worldwide Emerging Markets) for about five years, ending in early 1999, and he turned in a mediocre performance. Schwartz is part of Saler's team at Pilgrim International, and he's also a member of the management team for Pilgrim Global Corporate Leaders. If your eyes haven't glazed over already, you should also know that Saler is back at Lexington Worldwide Emerging Markets, now known as Pilgrm Worldwide Emerging Markets, and Schwartz is his co-manager.
    
    
  • Pilgrim International Core Growth: See Pilgrim Emerging Countries Fund, immediately above.
    
    
  • Pilgrim LargeCap Growth: Thomas Sullivan and Mary Lisanti take over as co-managers. Sullivan had been part of the Nicholas-Applegate team that managed this fund, until he left to start his own investment firm in April, 2000. He's back, so maybe the grass wasn't so green on the other side after all.
    
    
  • Pilgrim Worldwide Growth: Richard Saler and Philip Schwartz take over the international portion of this fund. Mary Lisanti handles the domestic side.
  
  All of the Pilgrim changes, above, are effective October 1, 2000. [9/00]
  
  Standish Small Cap Equity: Nicholas Battelle resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. Steven Gold takes over. FundAlarm comments: Battelle's departure presents investors of this fund, as well as the two Standish funds below, with a classic dilemma: What do you do when a long-term, successful manager is replaced by someone with no prior experience as a lead fund manager? According to Morningstar, Standish says that the funds' investment strategies will remain the same, which is exactly what you would expect them to say, and just about meaningless in terms of predicting future fund performance. If we owned any of these funds, we would probably hold, and carefully reevaluate our position after six to nine months. [9/00]
  
  Standish Small Cap Growth: Nicholas Battelle resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. His replacement is Edward Walter, head of the Standish technology group. FundAlarm comments: See comments for Standish Small Cap Growth, above. [9/00]
  
  Standish Small Cap Tax-Sensitive: Nicholas Battelle resigns as manager, and leaves the firm. He is replaced by Nevin Markwart. FundAlarm comments: See comments for Standish Small Cap Growth, above. [9/00]
  
  
• Originally posted August 2000:
  
  Driehaus European Opportunity: Lynnette Schroeder leaves as manager, and leaves the firm, destination unknown. William Anderson, currently manager of Driehaus International Growth, takes over. FundAlarm comments: This is the top-performing Europe stock fund over the past 12 months, with a 192% return, so any manager change has to be a cause for concern. New manager Anderson has a good record running a less-focused international fund for Driehaus, but he's in a tough position. If Anderson merely beats his Europe fund peers by, say, 30% over the next 12 months, then it looks like he's screwing up, because his predecessor (Schroeder) beat them by so much more. But would Schroeder have continued her torrid pace? Who knows. [8/00]
  
  Driehaus International Discovery: Lynnette Schroeder leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. Eric Ritter, currently manager of Driehaus Asia Pacific Growth, takes over. [8/00]
  
  Oakmark Small Cap: Stephen Reid, who had been on a medical leave of absence since February, is formally replaced as manager. Clyde McGregor will now run this fund, assisted by James Benson, Reid's co-manager since November 1999. FundAlarm comments: McGregor has turned in a decent performance as manager of Oakmark Equity & Income, a balanced fund. As far as we can tell, however, McGregor has never run a stock-only fund, and (as with any balanced fund manager) it's impossible to make any meaningful judgments about his stock-picking skills. Still, if we owned this fund, we'd be inclined to hold, based on the overall quality of the Oakmark professional staff. [8/00]
  
  RSI Retirement Value Equity: Chris Kaufman leaves as manager, destination unknown. Kaufman is succeeeded by chief investment officer James Coughlan, who has done a very respectable job as manager of RSI Retirement Core Equity. [8/00]
  
  Spectra: David Hyun leaves as co-manager; he is taking over at Oppenheimer Enterprise. Hyun's replacement is Seilai Khoo. [8/00; thanks to FundAlarm reader Jeff Kirkman for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  Vanguard Growth & Income: John Nagorniak retires as manager, and co-manager John Cone replaces him. FundAlarm comments: This is one of Vanguard's sub-advised funds. Cone was added to the management team last year, apparently in anticipation of Nagorniak's retirement. One of the qualities that Vanguard looks for when selecting (and retaining) its outside managers is depth of talent, so we'd be inclined to give Cone a good look before we even thought about selling this fund. [8/00]
  
  Vanguard International Value: Outside manager Phillips & Drew is fired. Hansberger Global Investors is hired to replace them. [8/00]
  
  
• Originally posted July 2000:
  
  FAM Value: Diane Van Buren leaves as co-manager, after about 13 years on the job, and she also leaves the firm. Analyst John Fox joins Van Buren's former co-manager, Tom Putnam, who will remain at the helm. FundAlarm comments: This is a difficult fund to benchmark, since it's on the cusp between mid-cap and small-cap. FundAlarm uses the tougher mid-cap benchmark, which makes this fund look dismal. Even as a small-cap fund, however, FAM Value would still be 3-ALARM. Here's the upshot: FAM Value is a mediocre fund. Van Buren's departure, by itself, is no reason to sell. But if you're reading this, and you own the fund, this might be a good time to take a fresh -- and critical -- look at this holding. [7/00]
  
  Lexington Worldwide Emerging Markets: Stratos Advisors is fired as sub-advisor to this fund, and out the door with Stratos go co-managers Alfredo Viegas and Mohammed Zaidi. Replacing Viegas and Zaidi are in-house team, Richard Saler and Philip Schwartz. [7/00]
  
  Putnam Global Growth and Income (all classes): Deborah Kuenstner leaves as manager; she will devote full-time to supervisory responsibilities. Replacing Kuenstner is Colin Moore, who joins Putnam from a private money management firm. Moore has no mutual fund track record. [7/00]
  
  Putnam International Growth and Income (all classes): See Putnam Global Growth and Income, above. [7/00]
  
  Van Kampen Pace (all classes): John Cunniff is kicked upstairs, and he will now devote himself to administrative responsibilities at Van Kampen. Mike Davis and Mary Jayne Maly take over as co-lead managers, assisted by Thomas Copper and Jeff New. FundAlarm comments: This fund is a mess, with frequent manager turnover and what appears to be a permanent 3-ALARM rating. On the other hand, New, Davis, and Maly are the co-managers who have been responsible for decent performance at Van Kampen Enterprise over the past three years or so. If you've owned Van Kampen Pace for a while....why? In any event, if we owned this fund, we'd be willing to give Davis and Maly six to nine months to show what they can do. [7/00]
  
  
• Originally posted June 2000:
  
  Advantus Enterprise: The Advantus in-house team steps aside as manager, and brings in Credit Suisse Asset Management and Warburg Pincus as sub-managers. [6/00]
  
  Advantus Venture: The Advantus in-house team steps aside as manager, and brings in State Street Research as sub-manager. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity: Beth Terrana leaves the fund, and "transitions" to a new role at Fidelity (mentor to younger fund managers), which probably will be followed shortly by another transition: out the door. Nick Thakore takes over for Terrana. FundAlarm comments: As bloated, large-cap funds go, this has been one of Fidelity's best. Plus, Thakore has turned in some excellent numbers at Trend since he took that over in October 1998, which was not something we expected at the time. If we owned this fund, we definitely wouldn't sell just because of Terrana's departure. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Growth and Income: Beth Terrana leaves as manager, and John Avery takes over. FundAlarm comments: Avery's current claim to fame is as manager of Fidelity Advisor Balanced (where he will continue). Based on his record at that fund, it's impossible to make any meaningful judgment about his stock selection skills. Avery's only other Fidelity experience has been with a couple of Select funds. We consider Avery a question mark, and we consider this fund a careful "watch." [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Health Care: See Fidelity Select Health Care, below. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor High Yield: Margaret Engle leaves as manager, and retires from the money management business. Thomas Soviero takes over, and steps down at Fidelity High Income. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Destiny II: Beth Terrana leaves as manager, and Adam Hetnarski takes over. FundAlarm comments: Terrana has turned in a good performance since she took over this fund in April 1998. Hetnarski has managed Contrafund II (where he will continue) only since February 2000, and before that he managed Export & Multinational only for about 16 months, so he has a skimpy track record. As we said several months ago, when George Vanderheiden vacated Destiny I: Because of the way Destiny II is sold (i.e., a contractual plan), many shareholders are effectively locked-in anyway. Fidelity might have been gone out of its way to assign a more experienced manager to this unusual fund, which they didn't, but there could be a worse fate than having Hetnarski as manager. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity High Income: Thomas Soviero leaves as manager; he is headed for Fidelity Advisor High Yield. Frederick Hoff takes over. Hoff has about four years of experience managing the high-yield portions of several Fidelity asset allocation funds. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Health Care: Ramin Arani leaves as manager. He takes over Fidelity Trend. Replacing Arani is Yolanda McGettigan, who already runs Fidelity Select Biotechnology. [6/00]
  
  Fidelity Trend: Nick Thakore leaves as manager (he's headed for the flagship Fidelity Fund). Ramin Arani takes over. FundAlarm comments: Arani has posted some terrible numbers at Fidelity Select Health Care, and before that he led Fidelity's Select Retailing fund. So, there's nothing in his background to suggest that he's up to handling this large-cap, diversified fund. [6/00]
  
  Ivy International (all classes): Hakan Castegren leaves as manager -- quit or fired, no one is saying. Sheridan Reilly, from Scudder/Kemper International Growth and Income, takes over. FundAlarm comments: The conventional wisdom seems to be that Castgren quit, because Ivy wanted to reopen this fund and he didn't. As we note in this month's Highlights and Commentary, it makes more sense to us that Castegren was fired, and the "dispute" over the reopening of the fund was a convenient cover for both Castegren and Ivy. In any event, shareholders of this fund can look forward to a somewhat more growth-oriented approach, and the possibility of a large tax bill, as Reilly positions the portfolio to his liking. [6/00]
  
  MSDW Information (all classes): Glenn Frey leaves as manager. Frey is headed for Orbitex Info-Tech & Communications, where he will take over from Craig Ellis. Frey's's co-manager, Guy Rutherfurd, will run this fund with new co-manager, Armon Bar-Tur. FundAlarm comments: Our sources tell us that MSDW is a difficult place for tech fund managers, and the turnover at this fund seems to bear that out. Co-manager George Paoletti, who put this fund on the map, left in May 1999. Paoletti's assistant left at the end of 1999, and Frey's assistant also preceded him out the door. Shareholders would be well-advised to carefully watch the performance of this fund over the next six to nine months. [6/00]
  
  Nationwide MidCap Growth: Christopher Welch is removed as manager, and Aaron Harris replaces him. Harris was one of the co-managers of record-beating Nicholas-Applegate Global Technology, so it's reasonable to assume that this fund will now become even more technology-heavy.[6/00]
  
  Northern Technology: Co-manager Kevin Spoor died on May 7, 2000. The remaining two co-managers will continue to run this fund, and there are no immediate plans to replace Spoor. [6/00]
  
  Oppenheimer Enterprise (all classes): Jay Tracey leaves as manager. Tracey is replaced by Bruce Bartlett. [6/00]
  
  
• Originally posted May 2000:
  
  Fidelity Disciplined Equity: Bradford Lewis leaves as manager, and retires (apparently in his mid-40s) from the money management business. Steven Snider, a former member of Lewis' team, takes over. FundAlarm comments: Commenting on the departure of Lewis, Fidelity CEO Robert Pozen had the following to say: "Within the quantitative strategies employed by [Lewis'] group, the detailed investment discipline is essentially recorded in thousands of lines of computer code. Therefore, the transition in management...should be relatively painless." Pozen's comment kind of brings a sentimental tear to your eye, doesn't it? Speaking of memorable moments, at the going away party for Lewis, the computers that actually run the fund reportedly joined in a rendition of that classic song from The Wizard of Oz, "If I Only Had a Brain." It wasn't immediately clear, however, whether the computers were slyly mocking Lewis, or actually longing for gray matter of their own. [5/00]
  
  Fidelity Stock Selector: Bradford Lewis leaves as manager, and retires from the money management business. Bobby Kuo takes over. [5/00]
  
  FPA Paramount: William Sams retires as manager. Co-managers Eric Ende and Steve Geist take over. FundAlarm comments: What can you say about a stinker fund that has finally gotten some help? This fund leads all other small-caps on this month's list of "Most Alarming" 3-ALARM funds, and Sams has turned in a dreadful performance since mid-1998. New managers Ende and Geist currently run FPA Perennial, and they have done a respectable job, picking up steam in mid-1998 almost exactly when Sams began to lose it at Paramount. Not many folks hung on during the Sams slide but, if you're one of them, we consider this fund to be a cautious "hold." [5/00]
  
  
• Originally posted April 2000:
  
  Alliance Quasar (all classes): Mark Cuneen leaves as manager, after about one month on the job. His replacement is Bruce Aronow. FundAlarm comments: A "quasar" is a very bright celestial object, thought to be powered by matter falling into a black hole. In the case of this fund, the light seems to have gone out in 1996, and in recent years it has been more like a gray hole. Cuneen had a short but decent record at another fund, and we thought it was worth giving him a chance. Now he's gone. Aronow has no record, and there's no particular reason to believe he can or will turn things around. We consider this fund a strong candidate for sale. [4/00]
  
  Fidelity Europe Capital Appreciation: Kevin McCarey leaves as manger, and Ian Hart replaces him. McCarey will continue to manage two other Fidelity funds, Aggressive International and Advisor International Capital Appreciation. [4/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Gold: George Domolky leaves as manager, and he's probably kicking up his heels right about now. Andrew Marchese takes over. [4/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products: Noah Eccles leaves as manager, after about 14 months on the job. He's headed for Mutual Shares. Replacing Eccles is Adam Segel. FundAlarm comments: Segel is an analyst whose experience includes cellular and wireless companies. It isn't clear why Segel, who at least has some tech experience, would be put in charge of the lowest of Fidelity's low-tech funds. Ah, the mysteries of Select. [4/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Software and Computer Services: Dylan Yolles leaves as manager, after about six months on the job, and he also leaves the firm. Yolles is leaving Fidelity for, of all places, the American funds. Replacing Yolles is Telis Bertsekas, who joined Fidelity in 1997 as an equity analyst covering beverage and tobacco stocks. FundAlarm comments: When Yolles took over at this fund in August, we predicted that he would "keep the seat warm for a few months." Little did we know. And what, oh what, does Yolles see for himself at the American funds? We're no medical expert, but we suspect that the decision to join the American funds is at least partially due to oxygen deprivation, which Yolles may have suffered last time he went shopping for tech stocks. In announcing the appointment of Bertsekas to this fund, a Fidelity spokesperson noted the comforting presence of Fidelity's bench: "One of Fidelity's strengths is its extensive investment management team and equity research infrastructure." Yes, but Bertsekas is coming off a three-year stint as a tobacco and beverage analyst. We're guessing that Bertsekas also subscribes to PC Magazine, which was probably his edge in winning this new assignment. [4/00]
  
  Hancock Large Cap Value: Major Timothy confusion: Timothy Keefe leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. He is headed for a hedge fund. Timothy Quinlisk, who was Timothy Keefe's co-manager until January, returns to this fund from the Westcore family. [4/00]
  
  Hancock Small Cap Value: See Hancock Large Cap Value, above. [4/00]
  
  Masters' Select Equity: Robert Sanborn is replaced as one of this fund's six sub-advisors, following his resignation from the Oakmark Fund (see below). Sanborn's replacement is Bill Miller, of Legg Mason Value. [4/00]
  
  Monument Internet: Alexander Cheung leaves as manager. Cheung will start his own firm, Long Bow Capital Management LLC (King of Prussia, PA), where he will offer both mutual funds and separate accounts. Replacing Cheung is Bob tt, who has been a tech analyst for about 20 years but has never run a mutual fund. FundAlarm comments: Cheung compiled a terrific record during the short life of this fund, and he was clearly the heart, soul, and life blood of Monument. That's why we were surprised to see the press release describing Cheung's departure, and Grandhi's hiring, which began as follows: "Monument Funds Group Strengthens Top Team..." This is a crock. Well, perhaps we should be more circumspect: We don't really know if this statement is a crock or not, but neither does Monument, and that's the point. If we owned this fund, and we could sell without getting killed on capital gain taxes, we probably would. There are other Internet fund choices, even some with track records. [4/00]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate Global Technology I: Aaron Harris leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. He is headed for Villanova Capital, where he will be the 29-year old tech sage in-residence. FundAlarm comments: In 1999, this was the best-performing mutual fund in U.S. history, up 493.7%. Harris is now the fourth manager to leave this team-managed fund in less than a year. (According to Sandra Ward of Barron's, Harris also picked technology stocks for two other Nicholas-Applegate funds, Small Cap Growth and Mini.) Harris will probably be replaced by an outside hire, just as Emmy Sobieski (who left in January) has been replaced by a former co-manager of the First American Technology Fund (Evan Lundquist). Hmm, could all of this Nicholas-Applegate turnover have something to do with money, and striking while the iron is hot? Nah. [4/00]
  
  Oakmark Fund: Robert Sanborn resigns as manager. Bill Nygren (currently of Oakmark Select) and Kevin Grant, Sanborn's top analyst, take over as co-managers. FundAlarm comments: To us, the amazing thing about this fund is not that billions of dollars have been withdrawn over the past few years, but that $3+ billion remains. If you're one of the believers, you deserve a lot of credit, and presumably you're not expecting miracles from Nygren. With reasonable expectations, this fund is now a strong "hold." If you're not a believer, what exactly does it take for you to sell a fund? [4/00]
  
  Seligman Frontier (all classes): Arsen Mrakovcic leaves as manager, and leaves the firm. Mark Cuneen, who most recently spent about 30 days as manager of Alliance Quasar, takes over. [4/00]
  
  T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth: William Stromberg leaves as manager. He will run TRP's equity research department. Stromberg's replacement is Thomas Huber, who has been an analyst on this fund. FundAlarm comments: There used to be a theory in baseball (maybe still is) that second-string players make the best managers. Something similar appears to be going on at T. Rowe Price: A manager with a long and mediocre record running one fund is now in charge of stock research for all of the firm's funds. In fairness, the dividend requirement imposed on Stromberg has forced a significant percentage of the portfolio into the slowest-growth sectors, and kept this fund very light on technology. If you want a value fund, you might consider moving into one without a dividend requirement. If you want more action, you're not going to get it here, at least until value stocks in general recover. [4/00]
  
  Westcore Blue Chip: Timothy Quinlisk leaves as manager, after about two months on the job. He has been lured back to the John Hancock fund family, where he will take over his former job as head of Hancock Large Cap Value and Hancock Small Cap Value. [4/00]
  
  Westcore Small Cap Opportunity: See Westcore Blue Chip Value, above. [4/00]
  
  
• Originally posted March 2000:
  
  AIM Strategic Income (all classes): The current management team, all employees of INVESCO, are replaced by a team from AIM. [3/00]
  
  Eaton Vance Growth and Income: Duncan Richardson leaves as manager. His replacement, Michael Mach, is a former analyst at Robertson Stephens. Mach appears to have no prior experience managing a mutual fund. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Aggressive Growth: Erin Sullivan leaves as manager, and leaves the firm for a hedge fund. Robert Bertelson, formerly of Fidelity OTC, takes over for Sullivan. FundAlarm comments:
  
  Gather ye paychecks while ye may,
  Old time is still a-flying,
  And this same market that smiles today,
  Tomorrow will be dying.
  So now we know why Sullivan is leaving.
  
  Sullivan had a monster year in 1999 (up 103%), a good year in 1998, and a bad (partial) year in 1997. Was she on a uptrend in 1999, or just lucky? Her hedge fund clients will presumably find out, but Fidelity investors will never know. And now, what to make of Bertelson? Except for 1999, he has posted about the same performance numbers as Sullivan. Arguably, Bertelson has done an even better than Sullivan, since he had more restrictive investment guidelines and his portfolios had more of a mid-cap cast. If we owned this fund, we would probably hold, and give Bertelson a chance to show what he can do. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Emerging Markets: David Stewart leaves as manager, for an institutional position within Fidelity. Patricia Satterthwaite, a 14-year [!] Fidelity veteran, takes over. Satterthwaite will continue to manage Fidelity Latin America and Fidelity Advisor Latin America. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Export and Multinational: Adam Hetnarski leaves as manager, in order to assume the lead at Fidelity Contrafund II. Douglas Chase, who manages the domestic portion of Fidelity Worldwide, will add this fund to his roster. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity OTC: Robert Bertelson leaves as manager, to take over Fidelity Aggressive Growth. Jason Weiner, formerly of Contrafund II, takes over OTC. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Developing Communications: Andrew Kaplan leaves as manager (see Fidelity Select Technology, below). Rajiv Kaul takes over. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Energy Service: Matthew Grech leaves as manager, after about one month on the job. Nicholas Tiller, an equity analyst, takes over. FundAlarm comments: We believe that Grech has just established a modern turnover record, even for a Fidelity Select fund. Grech had been moved from Fidelity Select Electronics, and he obviously wasn't happy to leave the bright lights and big city atmosphere of a tech fund. Grech is going to join -- everyone say it together! -- a hedge fund, where he will specialize in -- everyone! -- technology stocks. [3/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Technology: Andrew Kaplan leaves as manager "to pursue a new opportunity." (Could it be a hedge fund?) Lawrence Rakers takes over for Kaplan, and Rakers also continues as head of Select Computers and Advisor Technology. FundAlarm comments: Prior to January 2000, Rakers had managed several Fidelity Select energy and precious metals funds, and the Select Paper and Forest Products fund. Now, among all his funds combined, he's managing over $10 billion worth of technology stocks, which is larger than any single tech fund except T. Rowe Price Science and Technology. We know that nobody gives a hoot who manages Select funds, because if you're hot you're hot, and if you're not you're not. But really: Doesn't the sudden eminence of Rakers suggest that Fidelity is just a bit thin on talent in the technology department?[3/00]
  
  Mutual Discovery (all classes): David Marcus resigns as co-manager, and leaves the firm to start a gardening service -- make that "hedge fund." Rob Friedman also leaves as co-manager, but stays with the firm. This fund will now be run by Jae Chung and David Winters, and Winters will continue as co-manager of Mutual Beacon. [3/00]
  
  Mutual European (all classes): David Marcus resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Marcus is replaced by Rob Friedman and Jae Chung. FundAlarm comments: Conventional wisdom says that the Mutual Shares fund managers are all one big, happy family, and they help each other out. Which means that the loss of one manager (Marcus) shouldn't be all that disruptive. But the big-happy-family thing cuts both ways, and presumably Marcus also provided some valuable input to other funds in the family, so he will be missed. Whatever. Marcus posted some terrific numbers at this fund, and it's hard for us to believe that his experience and success can be easily replicated by one (or even two) of his big, happy family members. We shall see. [3/00]
  
  Mutual Shares (all classes): David Marcus resigns as manager, and leaves the firm to start a hedge fund. Larry Sondike, former co-manager, will now run this fund solo. [3/00]
  
  Principal Growth (all classes) : Michael Hamilton leaves as manager. Mary Sunderland is the new lead manager. [3/00; thanks to FundAlarm reader Scott Preece, Financial Consultant, FNIC, Salt Lake City, UT, for alerting us to this change, as well as the other Principal change immediately below]
  
  Principal Mid Cap (all classes) : Michael Hamilton leaves as manager, and Bill Nolin takes over as lead manager. [3/00]
  
  TA IDEX Janus Growth: Scott Schoelzel of Janus has quietly slipped away as co-manager, and Ed Keely now handles this fund solo. [3/00; thanks to FundAlarm reader "C.F." for bringing this item to our attention]
  
  
• Originally posted February 2000:
  
  Aetna Growth and Income (all classes): Kevin Means leaves the fund, and leaves the firm. [2/00]
  
  Delaware Balanced: Francis Morris leaves as manager, to make room for John Jares (from Berger Balanced). FundAlarm comments: Morris was an interim replacement for George Burwell, who left as manager in March 1999. Jares had a terrific (albeit short) track record at Berger Balanced, but he achieved that record with a more aggressive style than shareholders of Delaware Balanced have been used to. If you can tolerate more growth stocks in your balanced fund, and you are ready for some serious turnover as Jares gets up to speed, this fund could be a strong "hold." [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Financial Services: See Fidelity Select Financial Services, below. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities: George Vanderheiden resigns as manager, and retires from the firm. Bettina Doulton replaces him. FundAlarm comments: This is Fidelity's highest-profile "advisor" class fund, so there's a lot riding on Doulton's performance. There's nothing in her background to suggest that she's going to do a lot better than Vanderheiden, or a lot worse, either. We consider this fund a cautious "hold." [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Balanced: Stephen DuFour leaves as manager. DuFour takes over Equity Income II, and Robert Ewing replaces him. FundAlarm comments: Ewing has been with Fidelity for a long time (since 1990), and he definitely hasn't been on the fast track. DuFour was a solid value manager in a difficult market for value managers. If we owned this fund we would probably hold, and we'd keep a close eye on the stock portion of this fund. But, as we note in this month's Highlights and Commentary, it's not always easy to figure out how the stock portion of a balanced fund is doing, so prepare to do some digging. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Destiny I: George Vanderheiden resigns as manager, and retires from the firm. Karen Firestone replaces him. FundAlarm comments: Firestone has been in charge of one diversified fund during her career at Fidelity (Large Cap), and that one only since April 1998. So she has one full year as manager under her belt, 1999, which was a good one. Because of the way Destiny I is sold (i.e., a contractual plan), many shareholders are effectively locked-in anyway. Fidelity might have been gone out of its way to assign a more experienced manager to this unusual fund, which they didn't, but there could be a worse fate than having Firestone as manager. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Equity Income II: Bettina Doulton leaves as manager; she has been reassigned to Advisor Growth Opportunities. Stephen DuFour replaces her. FundAlarm comments: This fund is about five times larger than the stock portfolio that DuFour ran at Balanced, but he's an excellent catch for shareholders of Equity Income II. A strong "hold." [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Puritan: Bettina Doulton leaves as manager; she has been reassinged to Advisor Growth Opportunities. Stephen Petersen replaces her. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Banking: Yolanda McGettigan leaves as manager, and Samuel Peters replaces her. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Electronics: Matthew Grech leaves as manager. He's been assigned to keep the seat warm at Select Energy Service. Brian Hanson, a new name in the Fidelity game of musical managers, takes over for Grech. [2/00]
  
  Fidelity Select Financial Services: Robert Ewing leaves as manager; he is headed for Fidelity Balanced, where he will take over the equity portion of the fund. James Catudal replaces Ewing. [2/00]
  
  Franklin Asset Allocation A: Lisa Costa leaves as lead manager, for RiverSource Growth Fund. R. Martin Wiskemann, her former co-manager, will continue with the fund. He is joined by Matt Ward. [2/00]
  
  Franklin DynaTech (A,C): Lisa Costa leaves as co-manager, for RiverSource Growth Fund. Rupert Johnson, her former lead manager, will now run this fund solo. [2/00]
  
  Hartford Small Company (all classes): Mark Waterhouse leaves as manager. This fund is sub-advised by Wellington Management, and Waterhouse was an employee of Wellington. Taking over for Waterhouse is another Wellington employee, Steven Angeli. [2/00; thanks to FundAlarm reader James M. Christian, CLU, ChFC for bringing this item to our attention.]
  
  Ivy International II (all classes): Barbara Trebbi leaves as lead manager, and leaves the firm. The remaining team members take over. [2/00]
  
  Loomis Sayles Mid Cap Value (all classes): Jeffrey Petherick, Mary Champagne leave as managers and they leave the firm. Both are headed to Villanova Capital, a division of Nationwide. Co-manager Dawn Paige stays behind, and she is joined by Joseph Gatz. [2/00]
  
  Loomis Sayles Small Cap Value (all classes): Jeffrey Petherick and Mary Champagne leave as managers, and leave the firm. They are headed to Villanova Capital, a division of Nationwide. Taking over Small Cap Value are the team of Joseph Gatz and Dawn Paige. [2/00]
  
  Nicholas-Applegate Global Technology I: Emmy Sobieski leaves as co-manager, and leaves the firm. She's headed for a New York hedge fund. FundAlarm comments: Co-managers leave funds all the time, but this is no ordinary fund. It was the top-performing fund of 1999 (up 493.7%). You'd think investors might be interested in anything that happens to a fund like this, but Nicholas-Applegate still hasn't publicly announced Sobieski's departure. As Sandra Ward of Barron's recently noted, this is a curious lapse, especially since Sobieski's arrival in May 1998 was so prominently hyped ("one of the country's leading technology specialists," according to a press release at the time). About the best that Nicholas-Applegate could do was provide the following surly response: "We typically don't announce departures. It's not like we were not providing any notification. We made an effort to make sure people who needed to know, knew." In other words, screw you. [2/00.]
  
  SEI Institutional Small Cap Growth (all classes): Furman Selz is fired as one of five subadvisors, and replaced by Mazama Capital. [2/00.]
  
  T. Rowe Price Health Science: Brian Stansky leaves as manager, and leaves the firm to join a Boston hedge fund. Kris Jenner, a former analyst on this fund, takes over for Stansky. FundAlarm comments: Brian Stansky's brother is Robert Stansky, manager of Fidelity Magellan. Brian and Robert are now in the same city, and Brian is now at a hedge fund. Could it be that Brian and Robert will get together some day, at their own firm? The Stansky boys, propelled by Robert's reputation, could make Jeff Vinik's hedge fund look like petty cash. [2/00]
  
  T. Rowe Price Media and Telecom: Brian Stansky leaves as manager, and leaves the firm to join a Boston hedge fund. Rob Gensler, a former analyst on this fund, takes over for Stansky. [2/00]
  
  USAA Income: John Saunders retires as manager, and Didi Weinblatt takes over. [2/00]
  
  
• Originally posted January 2000:
  
  Evergreen Balanced: Judith Warners leaves as manager of the equity portion of this fund, after only 16 months on the job. Her replacement is Patricia Bannan. The fixed-income manager on this fund, Gary Pzegeo, is also relatively new, having replaced Chris Conkey at the beginning of 1999. [1/00]
  
  Fidelity International Value: Richard Mace leaves as manager; he will continue to run Fidelity Overseas and Fidelity Balanced. Mace is replaced by Kevin McCarey, who currently runs two European capital appreciation funds, as well as Fidelity Advisor International Capital Appreciation (or, as it's known for short, Fido Ad Int Cap App). FundAlarm comments: Fidelity makes so many manager changes without any apparent reason, it's easy to overlook a change, like this one, that might actually mean something. Fidelity International "Value" is not really a value fund, at least in our book. By turning International Value over to McCarey, Fidelity seems to be acknowledging that the word "value" in the fund's name is officially meaningless. McCarey is an aggressive growth manager, who had a mediocre 18-month record until his performance took off in the middle of 1999. McCarey also has a penchant for huge turnover. Under McCarey, International "Value" should become even less value-like than befo