Did you hear the one about the fund executive that decided to grow a family of index funds by 80 percent after the market tanked? You just change the name and add four wholesalers.

The answer is no joke at North Track Funds, where plans to increase assets from $1.1 to $2 billion in this year will rely almost entirely on a bolstered sales force, especially after the growth rates of 1999 and 2000 were predicated on net sales growth.

The new name, changed from Principal Preservation, extends from a branding strategy aimed at carving out a more defined space in the marketplace. Although executives decided the name was too passive for its intended image in the mid-1990's, the urgency to change names and rebrand was upped after Princor became the Principal Mutual Funds in 1998.

Additionally, North Track is examining opportunities to partner in different alliances and platforms, eyeing opportunities in the variable annuity marketplace closely.

"We're looking at demographic trends in the marketplace and working with preeminent brand names; looking at what the aging demographics of our country want," said Robert Tuszynski, president and chief executive officer at the West Bend, Wisconsin-based firm. "And that's technology, financial services, and healthcare."

The transfer agency is PFPC, Union Bank of California holds custodian responsibilites.

 

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