DoubleLine Launches First Go-Anywhere Fund

DoubleLine launched its first fund designed to invest in multiple asset classes, including equities. DoubleLine CIO Jeffrey Gundlach will help manage the fund with four other portfolio managers.

DoubleLine Multi-Asset Growth  may invest in bonds, stocks, real estate-related securities, and commodities as it tries to grow capital while avoiding catastrophic losses and exploiting market volatility. The managers will allocate assets in response to changing market, economic, and political factors and other events that they think will affect the fund's investments.

The fund will likely land in the Morningstar world allocation category and compete with funds that have similar goals, such as  Ivy Asset Strategy (WASAX) and  PIMCO Global Multi-Asset (PGMAX).

The fund's no-load shares have a $100,000 investment minimum ($5,000 for IRAs) and a net expense ratio of 1.20%. The front-load shares charge 1.45% and have a $2,000 investment minimum ($500 for IRAs).

St. Joe's Board in Berkowitz's Cross Hairs
Things are heating up at real estate company  St. Joe (JOE). Bruce Berkowitz's  Fairholme (FAIRX), which owns a 25% stake in the company, is asking St. Joe's other shareholders to replace the current board with a slate proposed by Fairholme.

St. Joe said this week it "vehemently opposes" the effort and that Fairholme should back a financial advisor's efforts to seek strategic alternatives.

Fairholme is proposing Bruce Berkowitz and comanager Charlie Fernandez in its slate of proposed directors, as well as former Florida Governor Charlie Christ and Howard Frank, vice chair and COO of cruise line company  Carnival Corporation (CCL).

With so many of the company's voting shares under Berkowitz's control, Berkowitz stands a good chance of replacing most of the board.

Berkowitz decided to move on the board's replacement because he said, through a representative, that he is "concerned the desperate board might do something stupid with the shareholders' company."

Berkowitz isn't happy with the company's undisciplined capital, management, and strategic plans. The stock dropped 24.4% in 2010 but is up 25% for the year to date through Feb. 16.

The stock is down 12.5% annualized since Fairholme initiated its first position in mid-2008. (The S&P is flat over the same period.) However, Berkowitz tripled the fund's stake by mid-2009 as the shares fell, and Fairholme now has 2.5% of its assets in the company.

In a recent letter to St. Joe shareholders, Berkowitz wrote, "We've lost enough. Let's take back Joe."

Fidelity Drops Fees on Big Bond Fund
Fidelity is dropping the fees on its $11 billion  Fidelity US Bond Index  fund to 0.22% from 0.32%. The fund has a $10,000 investment minimum.

The fund, which tracks the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, now charges the same fee as  Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBMFX), which has a $3,000 investment minimum. However, for investors with at least a $10,000 minimum investment, the Admiral share class (VBTLX) of the Vanguard fund is still a better choice because of its 0.12% expense ratio.

Fidelity is also dropping the fee on a version of the fund that appears in its Fidelity Freedom target-date fund lineup to 0.05% from 0.22%.

TCW to Close Top-Performing Small-Cap Fund
TCW announced it will close  TCW Small Cap Growth  to new investors on April 30, 2011.

The fund has significantly increased in size over the past few years due to strong performance and investor demand. The fund gained 63% in 2009, while the Russell 2000 Growth Index appreciated 34%. Over the past three- and five-year periods, manager Husam Nazer has made the fund into one of the top-performing funds in the Morningstar small-growth category.

The fund has gained about $430 million in investor assets over the past year, increasing in size to almost $1 billion dollars from about $400 million.

Newly launched TCW SMID Cap Growth , where Nazer invests in both small- and mid-cap growth stocks and whose holdings significantly overlap with Small Cap Growth's, will remain open.

Etc.
Principal Funds has hired Jeff Tyler as portfolio manager for Principal LifeTime Funds, effective March 1, 2011. Tyler will have primary responsibility for the target-date fund series. With assets totaling $17.6 billion, Principal's target-date funds are the fourth-largest target-date fund family in the industry. Previously, Tyler spent 21 years at American Century Investments. He helped create American Century's target-date funds in 2004 and served as lead portfolio manager and head of the firm's asset-allocation team until his departure in 2009.

Palantir  will liquidate on Feb. 25, 2011.

David Horsfall joined the management team of Dreyfus/Standish Fixed-Income . The fund is now managed by Horsfall, David Bowser, and Peter Vaream.

SmartGrowth Lipper Optimal Conservative Index , SmartGrowth Lipper Optimal Moderate Index , and SmartGrowth Lipper Optimal Growth Index  will liquidate on March 31, 2011.

James Ramsay is no longer a portfolio manager on MainStay Global High Income (MGHAX), MainStay Government (MGVAX), MainStay Intermediate Term Bond (MTMAX), MainStay Short-Term Bond (MSTAX), and MainStay Income Builder (MTRAX). Michael Kimble and Dan Roberts will manage MainStay Global High Income with existing managers Gary Goodenough and Howard Booth. Dan Roberts and Louis Cohen will manage MainStay Government and MainStay Intermediate Term Bond with existing manager Gary Goodenough. Roberts and Cohen will also manage MainStay Short Term Bond with existing managers Goodenough and Claude Athaide.

Forward International Fixed Income  will change its name to Forward EM Corporate Debt on May 1, 2011. The fund will also change its investment strategy and add a new primary index.

Transamerica will launch Transamerica Water Island Arbitrage Strategy on May 1, 2011, a front-load version of the successful  Arbitrage  (ARBFX) by Water Island Capital. The fund will seek to achieve capital growth by using merger arbitrage.

Jeffrey Tyburski, Robert Pickels, and Walter Stackow are no longer on the management team of  Manning & Napier Small Cap . The fund is now managed by Christian Andreach, Jeffrey Coons, Jeffrey Donlon, Brian Gambill, and Jeffrey Herrmann.

Jeffrey Markunas no longer manages RidgeWorth Large Cap Core Equity . He is replaced by Christopher Guinther, Joe Ransom, Michael Sansoterra, and Sandeep Bhatia.

Loomis Sayles filed to launch Loomis Sayles Full Discretion Institutional Securitized on Feb. 11, 2011. The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in securitized assets, such as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities.

Fidelity will launch Fidelity Banking on April 29, 2011. The fund will invest at least 80% of assets in securities of companies in the banking industry.

Shep Perkins is no longer the manager of  Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock (FMCSX). The fund is now managed by John Roth.

Joshua Byrne is no longer the manager of  Putnam International Equity (POVSX). The fund is now managed by Simon Davis.

American Beacon Global Real Estate  will liquidate on March 15, 2011. The fund of funds manager also recently launched American Beacon SiM High Yield Opportunities (SHOIX). The fund's subadvisor is Strategic Income Management LLC.

Neuberger Berman introduced Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value. The fund is managed by Eli M. Salzmann, who joined Neuberger Berman from Lord, Abbett & Co. in January 2011.

Mutual fund analyst Kailin Liu contributed to this report.