Products July 8, 2003

Safeco Does Spring Cleaning on Fund Family

July 8, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Safeco Mutual Funds has taken a broom and dustpan to its fund family with new names for seven funds, a co-managed system for all funds, a fund reorganization and termination plan, and liquidation of two funds.
Reported by

In addition to the name changes and co-portfolio managers, Safeco Asset Management has created a small-cap committee, chaired by portfolio manager William Whitlow and composed of portfolio managers and analysts with small cap expertise. The names will change as of October 1 while the manager shifts are effective immediately.

  • Safeco Equity Fund will become Safeco Core Equity and be managed by Richard Meagley and Darcy MacLaren
  • Safeco Dividend Income Fund becomes Safeco Large-Cap Value and will be managed by Rex Bentley and Lynette Sagvold
  • Safeco Northwest Fund becomes Safeco Multi-Cap Core Fund and will be managed by William Whitlow, Jr. and Brian Clancy
  • Safeco Small Company Value Fund becomes Safeco Small-Cap Value and will be managed by Greg Eisen
  • Safeco Balanced Fund will keep the same name and be managed by Rex Bentley, Lynette Sagvold and Michael Hughes
  • Safeco Municipal Bond Fund will keep the same name and be managed by Stephen Bauer and Mary Metastasio
  • Safeco California Tax-Free Income Fund will keep the same name and be managed by Stephen Bauer and Mary Metastasio
  • Safeco Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Fund will keep the same name and be managed by Mary Metastasio and Stephen Bauer
  • Safeco US Government Fund becomes Safeco Intermediate-Term US Government Fund name and will be managed by Paul Stevenson and Tim Hokari
  • Safeco High-Yield Bond Fund will keep the same name and be managed by   Lesley Fox, Greg Card, and Beverly Denny
  • Safeco Managed Bond Fund becomes Safeco Intermediate-Term Bond Fund and will be managed by Michael Hughes
  • Safeco US Growth Fund becomes Safeco Large-Cap Growth Fund and continues to be managed by Dresdner RCM Global Limited LLC

A proposed merger of the Safeco Intermediate-Term US Treasury Fund and the Safeco US Government Fund is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to be final on October 1, 2003. The Safeco Intermediate-Term US Treasury Fund will be closed to new investments on July 31, 2003. Further, the Safeco Small Company Growth Fund and Safeco US Value Fund will be liquidated on September 8, 2003, and will close to new investments on July 15, 2003.

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Also, Safeco Asset Management lowered expenses on the following seven funds, effective June 26, 2003: The Safeco US Government Fund, the Safeco California Tax-Free Income Fund, the Safeco High-Yield Bond Fund, the Safeco Tax-Free Money Market Fund, the Safeco Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Fund, the Safeco Managed Bond Fund and the Safeco US Growth Fund.

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