"We only requested a $30m guarantee to support our company's borrowings backed by our large asset base," Mensinck said.
For plan sponsors with very large asset bases, generally $1 billion or more, the firms almost always charge a flat fee.
While funds with large asset bases should be approached with caution, there is no science to picking the maximum asset size of a small-cap fund, Mr. Edwards said.
Lisa Gallegos, a spokeswoman for Franklin Templeton, said the fund had a "well-diversified and large asset base" that would help insulate "against the need to sell positions before their targets have been achieved".
All 10 funds share one more quality: They are big enough to be efficient, since a large asset base lowers costs, but they are still small enough to be nimble.
It closed to new investors in June 1997, when assets hit $25 million, because a larger asset base would make it difficult for Mr. Montgomery to trade such small companies; it is scheduled to close to current shareholders at $55 million.
The fund companies argued that as more and more new customers invested their money, funds' operating costs would be spread over a larger asset base.
That's because they exclude funds that refuse to pay large asset-based fees to the supermarkets.
Asset based measures included composite measures (aggregate scores), asset ownership/access and quality of household construction.
5 6 In contrast, asset based approaches draw on strengths and resources which exist within communities.
The asset based measures can be broadly categorised as: composite measures; access/ownership of assets, e.g. vehicle ownership; and household construction.
