T. Rowe Price has added four funds to its Advisor Class lineup, bringing the total number of funds offering those shares to fifteen. Its intent is to provide greater pricing flexibility to third-party distributors.

Responding to questions about plans to add further funds to the Advisor class, a source at the firm said that it has no plans to do so now. Whether it does add more funds to the program in the future will depend upon client demand.

The new funds sporting Advisor shares are International Growth & Income, Mid-Cap Value, New Income, and Tax Free Income. The Advisor Class shares carry a 25 basis point 12b-1 fee to compensate intermediaries and are earmarked for distribution through retirement plans, mutual-fund wrap programs and broker-sold, no-transaction-fee fund supermarkets.

The firm had also recently launched its R Class shares of eight funds that carry a 50 basis point 12b-1 fee to the third-party channel. That series was aimed at the small-to-micro-plan market and is available to just retirement plans.

"Expanding the number of Advisor Class funds enables us to continue meeting the payment needs of fee-based advisors and retirement plan providers and is another important step in expanding the distribution of our products through third party channels," said John Cammack, director of third party distribution for T. Rowe Price, in a release.

The Advisor Class shares were introduced in March 2000, and have been well received by advisors, broker-dealers, banks, and other intermediaries, according to Baltimore-based T. Rowe.  

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