Money Management Executive articles from July 2005

Money Management Executive archives from July 2005

Fidelity Gift Probe Reaches Executive Suite.(Fidelity Investments)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The investigation into inappropriate gifts from brokers to Fidelity Investments traders, potentially influencing their directed-brokerage decisions, reached the upper-echelon offices of the Boston fund giant last week. Investigators at the...

Canadian Fund Giant To Slash Fees.(CI Mutual Funds)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... CI Mutual Funds, Canada's third-largest fund company, plans to establish a fixed administration fee for its mutual funds that would result in lower costs and greater transparency for investors. Under the terms of the proposal, CI will bear...

Banks Selling Off Failing Money Mgmt. Arms: Shedding Fund Assets to Focus on Core Strengths.
July 4, 2005... Banks, both large and small, are exiting the fund business. Responding to considerably more stringent regulatory constraints, difficult market conditions and stiff competition for shelf space, an increasing number of banks have been forced...

Donaldson's 11th-Hour Vote Adopts Controversial Independent Fund Reform: Further Flap Over Indy Chair Rule Expected.
July 4, 2005... The fierce fight for board independence got downright ugly last week, as SEC heavyweights took off the gloves to spar over critical fund governance reforms, just one day before the chairman hung 'em up. The Securities and Exchange...

Regs Drive Audit Fees Sky-High For Some: Demand for Accountants at Large Shops Leaves Rest Scrambling.
July 4, 2005... Audit fees have skyrocketed for some small-fund managers over the past few months, as the slew of new regulations and pending litigation puts the squeeze on small shops' already stretched budgets - forcing them to consider dumping their...

MBNA 401(k) Participants File Class-Action Civil Suit.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Participants and beneficiaries of the MBNA Corporation 401k Plus Savings Plan have brought an Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) class-action suit against MBNA for alleged breach of fiduciary duties, with Wolf Haldenstein...

NICSA Names Vice Chair, Four New Board Members.(National Investment Company Services Association)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... The National Investment Company Services Association has just announced a new vice chairman and four new members of the board. Peggy Schooley, president of Evergreen Service Co., is now NICSA vice chairman, a new office for the...

Hedge Fund Opportunities Shrinking.
July 4, 2005... WASHINGTON - The very expansion of the hedge fund market is reducing its investing opportunities, and slowly forcing the most cunning hedge fund managers to look to the long term. "The more hedge funds there are, the fewer investing...

Worldwide Wealth Exceeds $30 Trillion in 04.
July 4, 2005... NEW YORK - The monied continued to make money as the number of high-net-worth individuals and their investment assets continued to swell in 2004, according to the annual World Wealth Report released by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini at Merrill's...

Terrorism Blasts Marts, G8 But London Attacks Bring Little Uncertainty.(group of 8 summit)
July 11, 2005... Thursday morning's series of blasts targeting public transportation during London's rush hour has set the world at high alert for terrorism and had an immediate impact on markets, but the long-term effect is likely to be negligible, some...

NYSE, NASD Join SEC On Wall Street Gift Rules.(New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers, Securities and Exchange Commission)
July 11, 2005... Mutual fund companies may soon find the small, and sometimes not so small, perks from brokerage houses run dry. The New York Stock Exchange and NASD are exploring a single, stricter gift rule that would spell out, in no uncertain terms,...

Janus Eyes Hedge Funds to Help Reverse Outflows.(Janus Capital )(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Janus Capital is considering using hedge funds to help balance its product offerings, its new chief financial officer said. "Hedge funds are a good example of something we're looking at," said David R. Martin, who joined the Denver fund...

Last Call for Hedge Fund Party? Sector Shifts Focus to Pension Funds, Institutional Investors.
July 11, 2005... Hedge funds might be red hot today, but, according to a new study from the U.K.-based think-tank Create and financial services consulting giant KPMG International, their popularity will cool in the coming years. The study, which taps 550...

Putnam Whistleblower Wants His Cut: Sues Mass. A.G. for $15 Million, Seeks Scandal Bounty'.(Peter Scannell and Thomas F. Reilly)
July 11, 2005... The whistleblower who helped take down Putnam Investments for alleged mutual fund trading abuses is suing the Massachusetts Attorney General in an attempt to secure a bounty for his role in exposing the scandal. Peter Scannell, a 48-year...

E&Y Establishes National Tax Practice.(Ernst & Young)
July 11, 2005... Ernst & Young announced last week it has formed a new, specialized tax practice to serve mutual funds, hedge funds and private equity firms. The New York-based accounting and auditing giant's National Financial Services Asset Management...

M&As to Rise, Fueled by Compliance, Soft Market, But Giants Still Raking It In.(merger and acquisition)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Higher compliance costs and sluggish industry growth are contributing to a recent resurgence in merger and acquisition activity among smaller mutual fund companies, according to senior members of the $8.1 trillion industry. But despite the...

Executive Moves.
July 11, 2005... Former SEC Chair Levitt Will Advise AIG's Board Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt has joined the board of insurance giant American International Group as a special advisor. Levitt's duties will include...

NAVA To Boomers, Brokers: Get Real': Calls for Focus on Retirement Income Solutions.(National Association for Variable Annuities)
July 11, 2005... NEW YORK - Financial advisers and brokers need to partner with carriers, Congress and regulators to provide appropriately tailored retirement solutions, inclusive of annuities, for the nation's 77 million Boomers. Mark J. Mackey, president...

Spitzer Busts Broker at Trautman Wasserman for Hedge Fund's Late Trading.(New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer )(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Scott A. Christian, a broker at the New York investment management firm Trautman Wasserman and Co. has pleaded guilty to charges of illegal late trading in mutual funds, the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced. The...

Fidelity Top Trader Shifts To Strategic New Biz'; Antes Up $50,000 Fine.(investigation on Scott DeSano of Fidelity Investments)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Scott DeSano, Fidelity Investments' high-profile head trader, is now working for the firm's strategic new business development unit. Fidelity declined to comment whether the move has anything to do with increasing heat from regulators,...

AIM Board Slashes 12b-1 Fees: Post-Scandal, Firm Fights to Regain Former Glory.(AIM Investments.)
July 18, 2005... Fund boards are starting to show their teeth. In its latest effort to dig itself out of the gaping hole left by a painful bear market and a series of trading improprieties, AIM Investments has slashed 12b-1 fees on the bulk of its mutual...

Advisory Biz Shakeout Set in Motion: JPMorgan Warns of Major Consolidation.(PMorgan Asset Management.)
July 18, 2005... NEW YORK - The financial advisory business has reached a tipping point. Gone are the days of low barriers to entry, robust markets and a seemingly endless source of new clients. That was the message delivered by JPMorgan Asset Management...

Automatic 401(k) Enrollment Boosts Savings: But Sub-Par Default Contribution Rates, Investment Choices Problematic.
July 18, 2005... As the debate over Social Security reform reaches the boiling point in Washington, the Investment Company Institute and the Employee Benefit Research Institute are urging employers to step up their use of automatic enrollment for 401(k) plans...

TIAA-CREF Eyes 12b-1s, Higher, Correct' 529 Fees.(Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund.)
July 18, 2005... TIAA-CREF has taken a significant step that is symbolic for a firm with a long-standing reputation for high governance standards and that will affect the bottom line for many of its retail mutual fund investors. The traditionally low-cost...

Executive Moves.(Genworth Financial Taps David Reynolds)(Jan Jumet joins Babson Capital Management)(John Ring Joins Brinker Capital)
July 18, 2005... Genworth Taps Reynolds For New England District The Retirement Services Group of Richmond, Va.-based Genworth Financial has appointed David Reynolds as a regional vice president and wholesaler with responsibility for northern New England....

Equity Plays a Hard Find in Dead-Level Economy: Deutsche Bank Experts Point to Asia, Energy, Big Pharma for Opportunities.
July 18, 2005... NEW YORK - The global economic cycle has peaked, according to chief investment strategists at Deutsche Bank, and a sideways equity market in the U.S. and Europe is driving the world's smarter money managers to pay greater attention to Asia, as...

FICC Opens Up to Buy-Side Members.(Fixed Income Clearing Corp.)
July 18, 2005... Score one for fixed income mutual fund back-office operations teams.Having received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC) will now permit buy-side firms, including mutual...

Amvescap Foils CI Fund Management Play.(planning of an acquisition deal)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Canadian fund giant CI Fund Management has unveiled its plan to acquire troubled Amvescap, parent to the AIM Funds and the former Invesco Funds, for $7 billion in cash, the Globe and Mail reported last week. Amvescap has reportedly...

Sham' Timing Loans Cost CIBC $125M in Settlement.(investigation on market timinng loans by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's $125 million settlement with the SEC and Eliot Spitzer last week was for granting $1.3 billion worth of what the government characterized as "sham" market-timing loans, which CIBC routinely hid by rotating...

U.S. Economy Solid, on Steady Climb: Greenspan.(Alan Greenspan talks about the country's economy)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Speaking in what might have been his last appearance before Congress last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed confidence in the nation's economy and indicated additional hikes in interest rates are necessary to sustain...

Fidelity Trader's Fete Widens Gift Probe: But Fund Giant Should Emerge Unscathed: Experts.(investigation of Fidelity Investments)
July 25, 2005... Just when the mutual fund industry was ready for a breather from 20 months of intense regulatory scrutiny and costly new compliance measures, along comes Danny Black. With his admission to the media last week that a number of key traders...

Spat Over SMA Standards Ignites: MMI Vows to Fight CFA on Draconian' Proposal.(separately managed accounts, Money Management Institute)(Association for Investment Management and Research)
July 25, 2005... The bout over performance reporting for separately managed accounts has reached a fever pitch. A top-ranking official at the Money Management Institute, the trade association for the SMA business, fired a shot across the bow recently,...

Fund Advisors Formalize Charitable Donations.(investment management)
July 25, 2005... Amid growing allegations of fund advisory personnel accepting lavish gifts, parties and even midgets, it's refreshing to see a new entrant to the fund industry promising to donate dollars to charities. The initial July 18 registration...

Former AIM Execs Settle Charges of Market Timing.(a case against Michael Cemo of AIM Distributors Inc. and Edgar Larsen of AIM Advisors Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... A pair of high-ranking mutual fund executives have settled allegations that they permitted market timing and will pay a total of $225,000 in civil penalties. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, former AIM Distributors...

Use Automatic Enrollment On Social Security: Expert.(management of United States. Social Security Administration)
July 25, 2005... House and Senate Republicans have a new proposal that could help make President Bush's Social Security reform package, including its controversial personal accounts, a reality, one prominent Beltway insider contends. Martin Feldstein, a...

Galvin Might Gain Access To MassMutual's Records.(a case by Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin)(Robert O'Connell of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. is dismissed)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... A judge has dismissed an attempt by MassMutual Financial Group to nullify a subpoena from Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin that sought information on the insurance firm's firing of CEO Robert O'Connell. But Judge Constance...

Retirement Planning a Key To Closing Investing Gap.(survey)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Employer-sponsored retirement funds could be an effective avenue into the world of investing for many African-Americans, who have historically lagged behind their Caucasian counterparts in stock market participation, the eighth annual...

Liven Up Your Web Site: A great online presence requires more than adding your picture to a turnkey template.
July 25, 2005... Like it or not, prospective clients expect you to have a good Web site. Just like a business card or brochure, a top-notch Web site, be it for a financial adviser or fund company, shows that you're a serious professional. A good site's...