Money Management Executive articles from July 2003

Money Management Executive archives from July 2003

NASD Keeps Close Eye On Mutual Fund B Shares.(National Association of Securities Dealers)
July 14, 2003... The National Association of Securities Dealers continues its slow battle against the sale of costly class B shares of mutual funds one that began two years ago. Late last month, the regulator fined New York broker McLaughlin, Piven, Vogel...

Managers Declare Bond Bubble a Certainty.
July 14, 2003... CHICAGO The bull run for bonds is over, and stocks aren't exactly ready to pick up the slack. That was the sentiment expressed by some of the nation's top fund managers at the 2003 Morningstar Investment Conference last month. "A bubble...

Money Funds Glad Fed Cut Wasn't Deeper.
July 14, 2003... Money market mutual funds are breathing a sigh of relief as they dodged a bullet in the form of a potential 50 basis point reduction of interest rates by the Federal Reserve at its meeting in late June. With many market and economy watchers...

Fee Trend Benefits Managed Accounts.
July 14, 2003... A trend that's changing the face of the brokerage industry fees as opposed to commissions may help wirehouses, institutional banks and broker/dealers attract more money into separately managed accounts (SMAs). A movement to fee-based...

Hedge Fund Data Seriously Flawed.
July 14, 2003... Performance and risk statistics reported by hedge funds are unreliable. In fact, the only true way to tell the profit or loss on a hedge fund is to cash out the investment. These are the findings of a working paper by Don Goldman, chief...

Cash, Not Earnings, Makes the Grade for Some Managers.(Mutual fund industry's top stockpickers discussed investment strategies at 2003 Morningstar Investment Conference)
July 14, 2003... CHICAGO Financial advisers flocked to the windy city last month for the 2003 Morningstar Investment Conference, where the mutual fund industry's top stockpickers discussed their investment strategies and what it takes to beat the market. Given...

Fund Managers in Australia Having a G'Day.
July 14, 2003... The fund market "down under" is anything but, as the Australia/ New Zealand fund market has been garnering positive attention as of late due to the region's prospects. Often thought of for its breathtaking landscapes, exotic wildlife and...

Baby Boomers Worry They Will Struggle in Retirement.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Finances and health insurance are on the minds of Baby Boomers, as 36% of them say they think about their retirement savings nearly every day, according to a recent survey by Pulte Homes. More than half, 57% of those surveyed, list the cost...

ETFs Take in $5.7 Billion In June, Morgan Reports.(Exchange-traded funds)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Exchange-traded funds had a spring in their step in June, gathering assets worldwide and trading more frequently in the month, according to a recent Morgan Stanley report. Assets under management during the month increased 3%, or $5.7...

Wealth Managers Primarily to Pursue Top Affluent Investors.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Wealth managers providing separately managed accounts and private client services are going to vie most actively for the assets of the very wealthy in the coming years, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey shows. Seventy-one percent of wealth...

Waddell & Reed Moves All Funds Under Ivy Brand.(Waddell & Reed Financial)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Waddell & Reed Financial has launched an expanded Ivy Funds family following the merger of several Ivy Funds into similar W&R funds, a move approved by shareholders. Under the new structure, five Ivy funds have been merged into W&R funds,...

Burns Now President, CEO Of PFPC's Broker/Dealer.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... PFPC, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group, has named Brian R. Burns president and chief executive officer of PFPC Distributors, a limited-purpose broker/dealer and a subsidiary of PFPC. As president and CEO, Burns will implement a...

Citizens Advisers Names Behan VP, Sales Director.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Citizens Advisers, the investment advisor to Citizens Funds, has hired Robert F. Behan as vice president, director of sales. His chief responsibilities are institutional sales and client service management, as well as consultant relations. ...

Mackay Becomes President Of Investors Management.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... James Mackay has joined Investors Management Group as its new president. He has more than 20 years of experience and a strong background in the financial services industry, including management positions in investment banking, securities...

Touchstone Recruits Lavin As Regional Vice President.(Touchstone Investments)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Nancy M. Lavin has joined Touchstone Investments as regional vice president for the Northeast. Lavin has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as northeast regional vice president at Navellier &...

State Cops Probe Morgan Stanley Funds.(Massachusetts)
July 21, 2003... State securities regulators are turning up the heat on Morgan Stanley after discovering it provided false and misleading information about its mutual fund sales practices. In a complaint filed last Monday, Massachusetts' securities...

At Deadline.(Banks are positioned to corner mass-affluent market)
July 21, 2003... Wealth Managers to Focus On Top Affluent: PwC Banks are positioned to corner the mass-affluent market, as separately managed account firms and other wealth managers choose to ignore investors with less than $500,000 of assets in order to...

SMAs Offer Salve for Investors' Bruised Psyche.
July 21, 2003... A three-year bear market has left wealthy investors groping in the dark, but with plenty of cash still sitting on the sidelines separately managed accounts may serve as a beacon of hope for recovery. A research report issued by TowerGroup,...

Open-End Fund Offers Hedge Fund Access.(AIP Alpha Strategies I Fund )
July 21, 2003... The AIP Alpha Strategies I Fund has dared to go where no other open-end mutual fund has tread before: into the hedge fund realm. The fund is the first to offer a variety of hedge fund investment techniques packaged as an open-end mutual fund...

Fund Investors Have Stake in Summer Flicks.
July 21, 2003... People flock to the movies during the summer blockbuster frenzy to flee the stresses of their everyday lives, but in actuality, many mutual fund investors have some portion of their finances staked on the success of the films they are using as...

Prudential Pays $382,000 To Settle B Share Charge.(Prudential Securities)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... In response to the Securities and Exchange Commission's charge that one of its representatives improperly sold mutual fund B shares and that it failed to monitor its sale of various classes of mutual funds, Prudential Securities has agreed to...

SEI Investments Adds STP To Electronic Trading.(Straight through processing)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... SEI Investments has made Electronic Trading Services capable of straight-through-processing. Eligible equity trades can now be handled entirely automatically, without any manual intervention from the order, to the marketplace and back to the...

PFPC Allows Investors to Make Fund ATM Deposits.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... PFPC, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group, has launched a program that will offer clients the ability to deposit funds intended for brokerage accounts via ATM machines. Customers can deposit a check, and if it is received before 3:00...

Transamerica Hires Vice President of Retail Sales.(Transamerica Investment Management )(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... Transamerica Investment Management recently announced the firm has hired Ted E. Harris as its vice president of retail sales. He will oversee the sales efforts of the Transamerica Premier Funds and the TIM subadvised portfolios in the IDEX...

State Street's Equity Research Gets New Head.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... State Street Research & Management Company recently announced that Ajay Mehra will join the firm as head of equity research in early August. He will report to C. Kim Goodwin, chief investment officer - equities. Mehra will lead the firm's...

Pilgrim Baxter Names David J. Bullock President, COO.(Pilgrim Baxter & Associates)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... Pilgrim Baxter & Associates, investment advisor to the PBHG Funds, said David J. Bullock has joined the firm as president and chief operating officer. Along with firm co-founders Harold Baxter and Gary Pilgrim, Bullock will lead the development...

Deferred Costs, Funding Levels Hurt Pension Recovery.
July 21, 2003... While the stock market has posted some gains and shown signs of life in recent months, pension plans have failed to regain significant ground lost during the bear market, according to consulting firm Towers Perrin. A sharp increase in...

At Deadline.(Safeco Corp makes changes to mutual fund activities)
July 28, 2003... Safeco Aims to Boost Fund Sales Via Banks Safeco Corp. is not known for its mutual funds, but recent changes in many of its 17 portfolios could alter that perception. The Seattle company, best known for its insurance products, has a $4...

Curian Blazes Trail for Online SMAs.(Separately managed accounts)
July 28, 2003... Technology has played an integral role in the development of the financial services industry over its life span, as companies have continually churned out new products that make investing procedures more reliable, more efficient and more cost...

Equity Fund Flows Show Cautious Optimism.
July 28, 2003... Investor confidence in the financial markets is slowly improving, as a recent report showed equity mutual fund flows hit their highest level in more than a year. Investors added an estimated $19.5 billion to equity funds in June, according...

Lehman to Give Neuberger Overseas Access.(Lehman Brothers' acquisition of Neuberger Berman)
July 28, 2003... Lehman Brothers' acquisition of Neuberger Berman, both of New York, will permit the two firms to diversify and grow their combined $100 billion in assets. The two publicly traded firms announced last Tuesday that Lehman would acquire...

Value-Addeds' Get High-Tech Push.
July 28, 2003... It's a given these days that if one sells wares through financial intermediary channels, so called "value added" services are a must-have to help brokers and reps consult, pitch, sell and manage their businesses. Moreover, investment management...

For Patsky, It's Easy Being Green.(Portfolio manager Matt Patsky is interviewed)(Interview)
July 28, 2003... Matt Patsky has investors seeing green, and it's not just because the fund he helps oversee is environmentally sensitive and has a colorful name. The Winslow Green Growth Fund finished well ahead of many of its peers during the second quarter,...

E*Trade to Rebate 50% of 12b-1, SSAs to Investors.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... E*Trade Group plans a partial rebate of 50% of the 12b-1 and shareholder service agreement (SSA) fees to shareholders that it collects from mutual fund companies for distributing and servicing their respective funds. The online brokerage...

Federated to Acquire $470M Of Assets From Riggs Funds.(Federated Investors will buy assets from Riggs National)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... Mutual fund giant Federated Investors has inked a deal to buy the mutual fund assets of Washington-based banking firm Riggs National in a move that would boost Federated's total assets by about $470 million. Pending approval by Riggs...

Fund Managers Expect 9% Earnings Growth: Merrill.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... Portfolio positions worldwide are being rearranged as fund managers have raised their expectations for economic recovery, according to a recent Merrill Lynch survey. There has been a large shift in the interest rate outlook, which is being...

Manulife USA Names Speca Executive Vice President.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... Manulife USA has appointed Bruce R. Speca as its executive vice president, investment management services. In the new role, Speca will lead investment analysis oversight and strategic marketing and develop investment strategies for all of...

Ibbotson Promotes Korabik, Chen, Lucas to Senior Posts.(Ibbotson Associates)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... Ibbotson Associates recently promoted Peng Chen to managing director and Jerry Korabik and Daryl Lucas to vice president. Chen heads Ibbotson's research department; Korabik leads the educational training group; and Lucas manages software...

Studzinski Becomes Co-Mgr. Of Oakmark Small Cap Fund.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... Edward Studzinski has expanded his role as an investment analyst and co-portfolio manager of the Oakmark Equity and Income fund, a position he has held since March 2000, to include co-managing the Oakmark Small Cap fund. He will be working with...