
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 20, 1994                    TAG: 9406200201 
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY                     PAGE: 14    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY GAGE HARTER, BUSINESS WEEKLY STAFF 
DATELINE: 940620                                 LENGTH: Short

FINANCE: LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE MUTURAL-FUND GAME

{LEAD} It's a classic case for Matt Harrell. In the office is a 46-year-old woman with an IRA investment maturing. But with the markets roiled these days, she's looking for more options.

So she headed for First Union National Bank - not to park her cash in the safety of a certificate of deposit, but to talk to Harrell about the bank's stock and bond mutual funds.

{REST} With money flowing out of low-interest CDs, First Union and other banks have gotten into the mutual fund game in a big way. Earlier this year First Union Corp. acquired the company that manages the Evergreen family of funds.

Harrell, vice president for investment and trust counseling at First Union Brokerage, says people are still putting money into the bank's funds despite the current volatility of the markets. In fact, First Union is preparing to put dedicated mutual fund salespeople in its local branches.

On this day, the investor isn't ready to buy anything. But she's interested.

Harrell gives her enough nighttime reading to last a couple weeks and tells her he will be in touch. They depart with firm handshakes and smiles.

``A lot of clients are comfortable with their banks,'' says Harrell, ``so it is a natural outgrowth for us to provide them investment counseling.''

{KEYWORDS} ALMANAC

by CNB