Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Print
June 10, 1996 01:00 AM

BULLISH FUNDS COULD TEACH KIDS A LESSON

Barry B. Burr
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Michael Jordan, the basketball star and most famous Chicagoan since Al Capone and Mayor Daley pere, ought to start a mutual fund. Not just any mutual fund, but one designed to teach youngsters about saving and investing, about discipline and making money instead of gratification and spending money.

    With him and his team, the Chicago Bulls, on the verge of a fourth National Basketball Association championship, there are incessant reminders of his endorsement prowess. It has been a boon to the sales of the limp-tasting Gatorade and ugly, overpriced Nike shoes. His coming out of retirement to return to basketball even boosted the stock prices of some companies whose products he endorses.

    Mr. Jordan has stirred the most controversy for his shoe endorsements. Earlier this year, Nike unveiled a new Jordan shoe, retailing for some $140. They became an instant fashion statement among some kids and raised questions on how they, or rather their parents, can afford to buy them. That appeal of being associated with Mr. Jordan is powerful. Perhaps he could harness his marketing power to reach young people for educational purposes.

    Craig Heatter, chief consultant and manager, Chase Consulting Group, New York, in a conversation a couple of years ago mentioned he would like to develop a financial version of "Hooked on Phonics," the ubiquitously advertised self-study reading program, sold through its catchy telemarketing number 1-800-ABCDEFG. Mr. Heatter, lamenting poor financial education in schools, said he would call his educational program, naturally, "Hooked on Finance." The Jordan mutual fund idea could fit well with Mr. Heatter's educational program.

    "I think it's a wonderful idea," remarked Robert M. Steele, vice president-marketing at Rydex Series Trust, Rockville, Md., a company offering mutual funds with unusual strategies, when asked about the investment educational potential of Michael Jordan. But he had an important caveat. "A while back Joe Montana used to be a spokesman for Franklin/Templeton funds," Mr. Steele said. But the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled celebrities cannot endorse funds. "But if one wanted to go into the (mutual fund) business, that's OK," he added.

    So why shouldn't Mr. Jordan create a family of mutual funds? His ties to the Chicago Bulls could generate all sorts of dazzling marketing connections to, say, the Wall Street bull. The Jordan fund idea isn't farfetched, not when you think of social agenda funds, like those dismissing stocks of the defense, gambling or alcoholic-beverage industries. The Jordan name on a conventional equity fund might attract interest from youngsters, who could benefit from its educational and investment value. Then one could envision other Jordan funds, such as specializing in investing in sports-related companies, including the publicly traded Boston Celtics.

    Mr. Jordan, a money machine himself, could enlist money managers to become subadvisers of his funds, from huge organizations like a Merrill Lynch & Co. to minority managers like an Ariel Capital Management. The latter type of manager might especially serve as an added appeal to inner-city kids looking for minority role models.

    Mr. Jordan might also work with a firm like Rydex, famed for its odd funds like the aptly named Rydex Ursa, which moves in inverse correlation to the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index. The Jordan funds could offer a "rebound" fund, designed to capture market upswings and named after Dennis Rodman. Instead of a family of funds Mr. Jordan could establish a league of funds, named after players, depending on the funds' risk-return potential.

    For those who crave Jordan merchandise, the funds might offer investors incentives or coupons for Nike shoes or Gatorade or tickets to Bulls games or Bulls T-shirts. If that's not allowed by the SEC, then the Jordan funds could educate kids on how their returns could finance a purchase of Nike shoes - and finance is an apt word in the case of this pricey apparel.

    Because of their unusual features, the Jordan funds might charge higher fees than the typical mutual funds, but there is nothing wrong with that. As they became comfortable with investing, kids and other investors might even consider the "unthinkabull" - trading a Jordan fund for a better performing, lower-cost fund.

    Recommended for You
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Read the print edition of P&I
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas
    Sponsored Content: OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas

    Reader Poll

    May 9, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Are Factors a Thing of the Past?
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    Out of the Shadows: The Revolution in Shadow Accounting
    The pivotal role of fixed income markets in the ESG revolution
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 9, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference