WHEN BIG DEALS DON'T HAPPEN MUTUAL-FUND INVESTORS would do well to check their holdings when a big merger falls through. Wall Street arbs aren't the only ones who can be left holding the bag when a deal fizzles. When PhyCor ditched a proposed merger with MedPartners on Jan. 7, shares of both companies plunged, taking a bite out of some Putnam and AIM mutual funds. According to a study of federal filings by AMG Data Services, Putnam funds, including New Opportunities and Voyager, has lost $81 million on its MedPartners holdings since the beginning of the year. The fund family also reported holding more than 6 million PhyCor shares, for an indicated loss of $55 million on them. Meanwhile AMG says that AIM's Value, Charter, and Constellation funds held most of its 13.2 million MedPartners shares for an indicated paper loss of nearly $185 million. AMG says the filings on these funds lag behind the merger events by months, so fund managers may have changed their holdings before the falloff. Neither Putnam nor AIM would comment on their stakes in the two companies. EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT & ROBERT McNATT Robert Barker RELATED ITEMS TABLE: Merger Fallout Return to top of story

Updated Jan. 15, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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