The $20 million fund and a new one, Sierra Club Balanced Fund, are expected to be available to investors Jan. 2, Reid said. While Garzarelli said her fund outperformed the S&P 500 Index by close to 200 basis points during her tenure, her name failed to attract sufficient assets, he said.

"Elaine has done a great job as far as performance goes," he said. "Unfortunately, if you don't have the added appeal in the marketplace, even with a decent name like Elaine has, it's very difficult to raise assets in the large-cap marketplace."

Russel Kinnel, director of fund analysis at Chicago-based research firm Morningstar Inc., said stock market losses have made asset gathering difficult for new fund firms such as Forward, which opened its first funds in 1998. The S&P 500 Index has fallen about 23 percent to date in 2002.

"You really need an outstanding record to sell," Kinnel said. "For large-caps, there's not much money flowing in there at all and certainly it's not going to start out by flowing into some obscure shop."

Reid said Forward is repositioning Garzarelli's old fund to reflect how Americans invest now.

"And that's focusing on environmentally and socially responsible issues," he said. "We'll be acknowledging corporations that act responsibly. We will likely not have (investments in) oil or autos at all."

Reid said Forward plans to use outside firms to run the two funds. It has signed agreements with New York Life Investment Management LLC and Harris Bretall Sullivan & Smith LLC, he said.

The two funds are the first that Sierra Club, America's oldest and largest grass-roots environmental organization, has lent its name to. They are expected to be the first in a family of Sierra Club funds offered by Forward, Reid said.