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Fund Times

Fund Times: Assets at American Eclipse Vanguard's

Plus, Winters buys Berkshire, Merrill manager moves to Oppenheimer, and more.

American Funds surpassed Vanguard in total assets under management in April 2006, according to Financial Research Corporation. The firm said American took in $6.7 billion in April to give it a total of $864.3 billion. By comparison, Vanguard took in $2.8 billion for a total of $863.5 billion under management.

FRC reported that American Funds held the top three spots in fund sales, led by  American Funds Growth Fund of America (AGTHX),  American Funds EuroPacific Growth (AEPGX), and  American Funds Capital Income Builder (CAIBX), which had inflows of $1.7 billion, $1.6 billion, and $1.5 billion, respectively. Growth Fund of America is far and away the largest mutual fund with $147 billion in assets.

After American and Vanguard, the largest fund companies are Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Barclays.

Winters Buys Berkshire and Ryland
Wintergreen Fund  manager David Winters bought  Berkshire Hathaway  (BRK.B) and homebuilder  Ryland Group  during the first quarter of 2006, according to a new SEC filing. Berkshire was a 3.2% position as of the end of March, while Ryland accounted for just 0.6% of assets.

He also added to his position in Consolidated-Tomoka Land (CTO). At his previous charges at Mutual Series, Winters built an excellent record with a deep-value investing strategy.

Fidelity to Rename Destiny Fund
Fidelity will change the name of  Fidelity Destiny I (FDESX) to Fidelity Advisor Diversified Stock as of June 30. Fidelity hasn't yet filed plans to rename Fidelity Destiny II (FDETX).

Ohio Cuts 529 Fees
Ohio has lowered the fees charged for its CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan by up to 10 basis points. Ohio is cutting the fees on the Vanguard 500 Index option from 0.35% to 0.25%. Meanwhile, it is reducing the asset-based fees on Putnam's age-based portfolios from 0.99% to 0.89%.

Oppenheimer Hires Merrill Manager
OppenheimerFunds said Tuesday that it has hired portfolio manager Ron Zibelli from Merrill Lynch. Zibelli will manage  Oppenheimer Discovery (OPOCX). Previously, Zibelli ran Merrill Lynch Small Cap Growth .

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