Insight March 2008 Monthly Update

Multiple-class or “series” structures continue to be a prominent characteristic of the mutual fund landscape. During the past year and a half, Fundland has seen much expansion and innovation in terms of available series and their features. The lead research article in the March issue of Insight begins with a look at recent growth trends in the asset bases of the four non-core series (also referred to as classes) of fund units, identifying the main drivers behind their expansion. We then review the approaches of several individual complexes, comparing and contrasting the series they have available on their product shelves. The article concludes with “series capsules”—a summary of the key metrics for each of the four series.