With all the brouhaha over shenanigans carried out by fund firms this would not seem like a good time to invest in financial services funds. But then again, contrariness is next to godliness on Wall Street. In that case, the timing of Royce & Associates decision to open a sector fund investing in financial services stocks may not be bad at all.

The no-load fund will carry a 12b-1 fee of 25 basis points. Other expenses will include a 100 basis point management fee and 24 basis points of other expenses.

Royce has filed to open the Royce Financial Services Fund as the newest member of its Royce Fund series. Don't look for CitiGroup to be its largest holding. The filing states that the fund will focus on stocks with markets caps of less than $4 billion. Target stocks include commercial and industrial banks, savings and loan associations, companies engaged in consumer and industrial finance, insurance, securities brokerage and investment management, other financial intermediaries and firms that serve the financial services industry.

Charles M. Royce, president and chief investment officer of Royce, will be the fund's portfolio manager.  

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