Charles Schwab & Co. and Bank of America, parent of Columbia Management, are the new entrants in 2006's top 10 list of biggest spenders of advertising dollars among fund firms. Schwab's spend increased from just over $5 million in the Jan.-Oct. 2005 period to more than $8.2 million in the same period in 2006. Bank of America, which spent almost $2.4 million in the first 10 months of 2005, spent $5.15 million through October this year, according to figures from Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Schwab's award-winning Talk To Chuck television ads were launched in September 2005 and have continued throughout 2006.

Topping the list again is T. Rowe Price, which shelled out $64.2 million by the end of October--almost $10 million more than the $54.3 million that the firm spent Jan.-Oct 2005. In August, T. Rowe expects its 2006 ad spend to total $94.6 million, forecasting a fourth quarter budget of almost $30 million.

Two firms that dropped out of the top 10 year-on-year are Janus Capital Group andThe Hartford. Janus' spend fell from $16.5 million in 2005 to $3.42 million. Janus recently said that it was focusing its sales efforts away from direct retail and onto the intermediary channel. The Hartford attributed its drop-off to a refocusing of its spending. "As a broad-based investment and insurance company, The Hartford's emphasis in 2006 has been the range of products that we offer, including mutual funds, that help people prepare to live," said Michael Johnson, v.p. of brand management and advertising. Prepare to Live is a tagline of the Hartford's campaign this year. Johnson said overall ad spending remained constant from 2005.

fa-chart.gif

The second- and third-highest spenders are Fidelity Investments--winner of FA's 2005 Ad Campaign of the Year--and Franklin Resources. As with last year, the ad spend of both firms is considerably higher than the firms ranked fourth and lower, though the gap between the spend of Fidelity and T. Rowe has increased--from an $11 million difference to the point where T. Rowe's $64.2 million is almost double Fidelity's $32.3 million.

Officials at T. Rowe, Fidelity, American Century Investments and Morgan Stanley could not provide comment before press time.