Harbor Fund is planning to run a unique banner advertisement on Morningstar.com for its new Harbor Real Return Fund, managed by PIMCO. The ad will display the fund's symbol, Harbor's minimum and the expense ratio, among a few other data points, and is aimed at investors with less than $5 million to invest, who get a lower expense ratio through Harbor rather than through PIMCO. The ad is specifically designed to be subtle and is a rarity for a firm that normally goes only through institutional channels.

Hugh Kelly, executive v.p., sales and marketing at HCA Securities, Harbor's distributor, said the ad is designed to "get the investor to do the work of connecting the dots," and is modeled after a successful ad the firm ran with Morningstar for its Harbor Bond Fund. Both funds are aimed at smaller investors and are subadvised by PIMCO. Harbor Fund also is revamping its Morningstar ad for the Harbor Bond Fund, overseen by famed manager Bill Gross.