When Boston financial attorney Gabor Garai first returned to his native Hungary in 1991 after leaving the troubled country in 1965, he nervously handed over his American passport to a border security guard. The guard looked at the document, which noted Garai's birthplace in Hungary, then walked out of the room, taking the passport with him.

              Garai spent the next several minutes growing more and more frightened, uncertain where the guard had taken his passport or what the officials of the government had in store for him.

              "By the time he handed it back to me, I was covered in sweat," said Garai, now a prominent Boston attorney specializing in venture capital, technology and merger-and-acquisitions.

              The guard had simply taken a brief break, Garai said, innocently carrying the passport with him. But the uneven political history of the country were ample cause for nervousness, especially for a former citizen now carrying American credentials.

              Today, Garai, 46, will add still another credential to his portfolio: that of Honorary Consul of the Republic of Hungary for the New England States.

              The Hungarian Foreign Ministry will officially confer the title upon Garai at a ceremony and reception that takes place tonight from 5 to 8 at the State Street offices of Epstein Becker & Green PC, the Boston law firm where Garai is co-managing partner.

              "Officially, I will be assisting Hungarians with various problems in the United States, such as getting birth certificates and other records or helping in various emergency situations if a Hungarian is stuck and needs help," Garai said.

              His duties, which are unpaid, encompass trade and commerce issues as well, he said.

              "I am very interested in enhancing the economic relationship of the two countries, primarily in technology," Garai said. "Biotech and various aspects of telecommunications and software are areas where the greatest amount of good can be obtained."

              He noted that Hungary resembles Massachusetts in the concentration of talent in those fields.

              "There is an interest on the part of Hungary to bring in someone to represent them who has a new-generation perspective on what the country is all about, and someone with connections in the New England area who can expose the Hungarian high-tech expertise to investors," Garai said.

              The term of appointment is indefinite, Garai said.

              "I expect to hold [the office] for at least five or six years, as long as I and the Hungarian Government think I can do good."

              Garai founded the Boston office of Epstein Becker & Green in 1988, one of 11 offices the firm operates nationwide. The Boston office employs 28 attorneys who specialize in national and international mergers; acquisition and alliances; public and private financing transactions; and spinoffs.

              Today's ceremony and reception will be attended by some of the elite members of the Hungarian delegation in the United States, including Hungarian Ambassador Gyorgy Banlaki, Hungarian Consul General Istvan Kovacs and Paul Toldalagi, the outgoing honorary consul for New England. A number of noted Hungarian-American business, academic and cultural leaders will also attend.

              Sophia Lengyel, president of the Hungarian American Chamber of Commerce of New England Inc. hailed Garai's appointment.

              And Garai said, yes, he will receive honorary license plates for his car, but, no, they are not U.S. State Department plates and won't carry diplomatic privileges.

              Fidelity launches new fund

              Fidelity Investments announced in February the addition of a new fund, the Select Business Services and Outsourcing Portfolio. The new fund brings to 39 the number of industry sector-specific portfolios the Boston-based company manages.

              The new fund will be the first to emphasize a broader spectrum of business services and outsourcing providers rather than targeting service-related industries such as financial services.

              Michael D. Tarlowe will manage the fund. Tarlowe joined Fidelity in 1994 and has worked as an analyst in industries including transportation and telecommunications.

              The Select Business Services and Outsourcing Portfolio will invest mainly in companies that provide business-related and outsourcing services. Fidelity said the fund will be relatively sensitive to shifts in the economic cycle and will be strongest while the economy is strong.

              Because it is a single-sector fund, Fidelity is gearing it toward more sophisticated investors who have a higher risk-tolerance and who are seeking diversification with an aggressive fund.

              Former State Street manager forms a new company

              Fred Kobrick has launched two mutual funds to kick off his new company, Kobrick-Cendant Funds Inc.

              The Kobrick-Cendant Capital and Kobrick-Cendant Emerging Growth funds, will be small enough to be "nimble, remain true to their investment strategies and analyze and act quickly on company developments," according to a statement released by the company.

              Kobrick, who heads the Boston-based company, was an equity portfolio manager at State Street Research and Management Co., where he managed as much as $4 billion in assets. To manage the company, Kobrick will team with Michael T. Carmen, who was an analyst and portfolio manager at State Street and at Montgomery Asset Management in San Francisco.

              BILL LANE, financial reporter for the Boston Business Journal, can be reached by e-mail at

              © 1998, Boston Business Journal