Money Management Executive articles from March 2008

Money Management Executive archives from March 2008

Freddie: More Price Hikes, Underwriting Restrictions.
March 3, 2008... Freddie Mac said it will raise prices further and add underwriting restrictions for the mortgages it guarantees, because of "continued deterioration of credit quality and declining home values in most areas of the country." Starting June...

Citi Initiates Reporting On Efforts to Modify Loans.
March 3, 2008... In the debate over whether lenders are doing enough to stem the tide of foreclosures, there has been little in the way of comprehensive data on such efforts, but $2.2 trillion Citigroup Inc. has taken a step to shine some light in this area....

Future of Pension Plans Looks Dark: Asset Managers Need to Help Retirees Help Themselves.
March 3, 2008... MIAMI-U.S. companies are retiring the idea of the traditional, defined benefit pension plan in favor of do-it-yourself IRAs and 401(k) plans. As the burden of paying for retirement shifts from employers to employees, consumers will need...

Old Mutual Builds on Strengths But Recognizes Weaknesses.
March 3, 2008... South Africa-based Old Mutual PLC which is better known in Europe, and in particular the U.K., hasn't exactly become a household name in the U.S. - yet. But the firm gets an "E" for effort. With its U.S. asset management hub based in...

Regulators Taking Aim at 12b-1 Fees.(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission)(Rule 12b-1 of mutual fund marketing fees)
March 3, 2008... After years on the back burner, the Securities and Exchange Commission's rule governing mutual fund marketing fees is in store for a "complete overhaul," according to commission chairman Christopher Cox. Fees paid under Rule 12b-1, adopted...

Retirement Trouble Ahead.
March 3, 2008... A new study from Tiburon Strategic Advisors takes a broad look at consumer wealth, the pending baby boomer savings crisis and boomers' likely liquefaction of assets. Consumer Wealth, Liquefaction and the Retirement Income Challenge addresses...

Executive Moves.(Brian Leach appointed in Citigroup Inc. )(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. promoted Lizabeth Zlatkus )(The Vanguard Group has elected F. William McNabb III )
March 3, 2008... Brennan Names His Replacement at Vanguard, As McNabb Takes Helm The Board of Directors of The Vanguard Group has elected F. William McNabb III as its new president and director, effective March 1. McNabb, 50, will succeed CEO John...

Week in Review.(National Investment Company Service Association)(Theresa Hamacher )(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... NICSA Names Hamacher as Weidlich's Replacement MIAMI - The National Investment Company Service Association has named Theresa Hamacher as its new president, replacing Barbara Weidlich, who served as NICSA's president for seven full years,...

Frank Seeks $35B Slate of Housing Remedies.(Barney Frank )(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... WASHINGTON - House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is preparing a $35 billion housing package that would expand the government's role in combating the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The package would call for $15 billion of...

Fannie Mae Posts $3.55 Billion Loss.(Financial report)
March 3, 2008... Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has posted a $3.55 billion loss for the last quarter of 2007, blaming rising home loan defaults. It set aside $2 billion to cover other bad loans and warned the U.S. housing slump could get worse. "We are working...

Citigroup Buys Legg Mason's Trading, Tech Biz.
March 3, 2008... The wealth management unit of Citigroup Inc. has agreed to buy Legg Mason Inc.'s managed account trading and technology operations. Citigroup, the largest bank in the U.S., said the purchase will improve efficiency by allowing it to...

S&P Downgrades FGIC to A from AA.
March 3, 2008... Standard & Poor's released ratings action on five of the bond insurers last week, downgrading Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. to A, from AA, and maintaining a credit watch with developing implications, while downgrading XL Capital Assurance...

Oppenheimer to Pay $4.5M In Fines, Restitution.
March 3, 2008... Oppenheimer & Co. has been ordered to pay $250,000 for failing to supervise the improper market timing of mutual fund shares from January through September 2003, according to FINRA. The firm has also been ordered to pay $4.25 million in...

Supreme Court Says 401(k) Participants Can Sue.
March 3, 2008... The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that participants in 401(k) retirement plans can sue their providers for losses if their instructions are ignored or their account is mismanaged. The high court's unanimous ruling was a huge victory for the...

White House to the Rescue For 8.8 Million Homeowners.
March 3, 2008... The Bush Administration and the Congress may bail out the nearly 8.8 million people whose mortgages have ballooned due to the sub-prime crisis. Echoing the depression of the 1920s, The New York Times reports this morning, a large...

Fraud Prevention Has Limitations: Companies Should Take Measured Approach to Employee Surveillance.
March 3, 2008... Financial companies should take precautions to protect themselves from fraud from within and without, but companies should be careful not to cross the line and start spying on employees. Cybercriminals can strike in a wide range of...

Panel Questions Exec Pay.
March 10, 2008... The bonuses and pay packages of the chief executives at Countrywide Financial Corp., Citigroup Inc., and Merrill Lynch & Co. were not made in the interest of the companies' shareholders, particularly as the sub-prime crises was unfolding,...

SEC's ETF Proposals Would: Ease Launch, Promote Creativity.
March 10, 2008... The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposals aimed at easing the burdens of providers bringing new exchange-traded funds to market should make new ETF launches an easier proposition while fostering even more product creativity,...

Industry Showers Love on SEC Proposal for Shorter Disclosure Statements.
March 10, 2008... A proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission to shorten mutual fund disclosure statements is meeting widespread support, and a new rule could take effect by 2009, if not sooner. Currently, mutual fund companies are required to send...

Transamerica Shortens Brands, May Merge Funds To Position Itself For Growth.
March 10, 2008... Denver-based Transamerica IDEX Mutual Funds group has shortened its name to Transamerica Funds, as it now resides within the larger Transamerica Asset Management Group, under insurance company parent Aegon. Plans are underway to identify and...

Week in Review.
March 10, 2008... Fidelity VP Investigated for Entertainment Methods The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an order against a top advisor at Fidelity Investments, after a four-year investigation into the inappropriate use of gifts and the...

Executive Moves.
March 10, 2008... Principal Funds Names New President Principal Funds has named Nora Everett as the company's president, replacing Ralph Eucher, who will stay on as CEO and serve as vice chairman of the board. Everett will report to Eucher. "As...

Smaller Wealth Managers Enter the Bank Market.
March 10, 2008... Many community banking companies have wealth management units, but lately more small and midsize wealth managers have been getting into the banking business. Wedbush Inc., the parent of Wedbush Morgan Securities, will open Wedbush Bank on...

ETF Creativity Flourishes - in Oklahoma.
March 10, 2008... Innovation is the name of the game for Keith Geary, CEO, president and chairman of Capital West Securities, a small, 13-year-old Oklahoma City-based broker/dealer. The firm recently registered its new investment advisory arm OOK Advisors and...

Fidelity Shareholders Vote On Genocide; Firm Settles.
March 24, 2008... Shareholders in a number of large Fidelity mutual funds, most notably the $73 billion Contrafund, succeeded in forcing a proxy vote at press time on whether the company should institute a "genocide-free" investment policy. Insiders did not...

MMI: Boomer Drawdown a Slippery Slope: Changing Times Require New Techniques.(Money Management International)
March 24, 2008... BOSTON-Asset managers will have to adapt their techniques and operations beyond their current business models to survive the shifting demands in the retirement product marketplace. That was the resounding message at Money Management...

Actively Managed ETFs Face Another Delay: Bear Stearns' Fund on Hold as Firm Put Up for Fire Sale'.
March 24, 2008... While the storied Bear Stearns went up for a fire sale of $236 million to JPMorgan last week, less than one-tenth of its trading price, Bear hit another brick wall. Bear Stearns faced a false start for its actively managed Bear Stearns...

How Much Risk? This Time, Fed is Being Asked Discount Window Shift, Bear Role Spur Calls for Disclosure.
March 24, 2008... WASHINGTON-Few question the Federal Reserve Board's recent efforts to stabilize the economy, but plenty of people are wondering how much risk the central bank is taking. In the past week, the Fed has agreed to put up $30 billion to...

Hartford Courts College Plans in Other States.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)
March 24, 2008... After a year of record growth, Hartford Financial Services wants to expand its 529 college savings business over the next two years by increasing sales and, perhaps, in what would be a shift in strategy, by becoming a plan sponsor in another...

Executive Moves.
March 24, 2008... Citadel Hires Morgan's Foreign Exchange Chief Citadel Investment Group has hired Patrick Edsparr to be its European CEO and global head of fixed income. Edsparr comes to the hedge fund after serving on JPMorgan's executive committee...

The Most Feared Man on Wall Street:.
March 24, 2008... Spitzer's Probe Puts Every Fund Company at Risk (Reprint From Nov. 10, 2003, Money Management Executive) Editor's Note: In light of the great promise that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer offered through his $5 billion cleanup of Wall...

CalPERS' Returns Dip.
March 24, 2008... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has posted its first negative returns in 2-1/2 years due to the subprime mortgage crisis and high oil prices, the fund announced last week. For the final quarter of 2007, CalPERS...

Release of Spitzer E-mails Seen as A Done Deal.
March 31, 2008... Eliot Spitzer, onetime Wall Street crusader, New York State Attorney General and New York Governor in a first term that ended with his abrupt resignation on March 17, may be forced to release thousands of incriminating e-mails linked to his...

Eye of the Storm: Subprime Global Freefall: SMA, Mutual Fund Execs Face Reality at MMI.
March 31, 2008... BOSTON-The worldwide, far-reaching ramifications of questionable subprime mortgages in the United States should have been foreseen and could have been prevented, separately managed account and mutual fund executives concurred at the Money...

Commodity ETNs Gain Attention: As Volatility Spreads, Short-Term Trading Potential on the Rise.
March 31, 2008... Two years after their introduction, exchange-traded notes are still relatively unknown even among financial experts, but an increasingly volatile commodities market could alert investors to their hidden potential. ETNs, which trade daily...

Mortgage Lawsuit Burns Schwab Bond Fund: Other Worst-Performers' Also at Risk.
March 31, 2008... Charles Schwab Corp. of San Francisco is facing a potential class-action lawsuit over no-load ultra short bond fund that allegedly loaded up on mortgage-backed securities and misled investors. In a lawsuit filed March 18 in U.S. District...

Week in Review.(Company overview)
March 31, 2008... American Express to Buy GE Money Unit for $1.1B American Express Co. agreed to purchase General Electric Co.'s GE Money's corporate-payment services, which provides commercial payment and purchasing cards to corporations, for $1.1 billion....

Payback Time.
March 31, 2008... A Fresh Look at the $5 Billion in Mutual Fund Restitution Money With ink from the news of the 2008 Recession already drying in the textbooks and the Big Chill on Wall Street overriding Hookergate glee, it's time, as they say, to think...

FTSE Launches Terror-Free' Index: Washington D.C., Risk Group Weighs in on Legislation, Marketing Opportunities.(FTSE International Ltd.)(Conflict Securities Advisory Group)
March 31, 2008... NEW YORK-FTSE has partnered with Conflict Securities Advisory Group, a risk measurement firm based in Washington, D.C., that has been focusing on Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria since just before the terrorist attacks in 2001, through the...

Executive Moves.
March 31, 2008... JPMorgan Tries to Keep Top-Producing Bear Staff Since JPMorgan Chase began talks about buying out Bear Stearns on March 16, Morgan scouts have been "all over" Bear's staff, looking for the best and brightest members. In much the same...