Money Management Executive articles from May 2007

Money Management Executive archives from May 2007

Citigroup to Acquire BISYS for $1.45 Billion.
May 7, 2007... Citigroup announced last Wednesday that it will acquire BISYS Group for $1.45 billion in cash and divest its retirement and insurance services units to J.C. Flowers, a private equity firm, for $650 million. Citigroup will keep BISYS' fund and...

Privacy Notices Aim for Easy Reading: But Will Investors Read Proposed New Disclosures?
May 7, 2007... How many regulators does it take to develop a clear, easy-to-read privacy notice? So far, eight federal agencies and all 50 state insurance commissions have been asked to weigh in on the proposed financial privacy notice, which is meant to...

Hedge Funds Headed for M&As: Institutional Investors Looking for Large, Established Firms.
May 7, 2007... The hedge fund industry will consolidate through mergers and acquisitions, as the funds continue to proliferate and gain popularity among institutional investors, experts predict. "This is absolutely going to happen," said Joel Press, a...

Will Bear Funds Draw if Market Mauls?
May 7, 2007... With the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a record level of 13,000 in recent weeks, and three of the Russell U.S. equity Indexes, the Russell 1000, 2000 and 3000, also blasting through their previous ceilings in April, are investors worried...

Fund Investors, You Say You Want a Revolution?
May 7, 2007... Whether it's protection of their own investments or a sense of responsibility to the world, there is an intriguing, if not unexpected, movement developing among mutual fund investors. They're raising their voices and asking fund companies...

Week in Review.
May 7, 2007... Vanguard Planning Launch Of Active Bond ETF Vanguard is planning to launch an exchange-traded share class of an existing bond fund, the Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund, The Wall Street Journal reports. Vanguard recently debuted...

Executive Moves.
May 7, 2007... Depository Trust Names George Chief Risk Officer The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. has named Douglas J. George managing director and chief risk officer, a new position at the organization. In this role, George will lead enterprise...

Advisers Won't Admit They're Sold on Wholesalers' Help.
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON-What financial advisers say they look for when picking products-and what they actually need-are often two different things, according to speakers at the Money Management Institute's 10th Annual Convention held here last week. ...

Large-Caps Poised to Regain Steam.(investment business )(Industry overview)
May 7, 2007... NEW YORK-As volatility in the market increases, large-cap funds will come into favor, the global economy will continue to post favorable returns and the energy sector will still offer investing opportunities. This was the general market outlook...

Financial Services Space-Time Continuum.
May 7, 2007... Financial markets firms have consistently earned more than the average company over the last decade, by a large margin, through innovation and value add. What's in store for the next decade? Suzanne Dence, a managing consultant with IBM, and...

WisdomTree Sees ETFs as Good Fit with 401(k)s.
May 7, 2007... WisdomTree Investments, an exchange-traded fund firm started nine months ago, is gearing up to enter the retirement market. The New York firm has assets of $3.2 billion in its 36 ETFs, and it plans to make the funds available to the 401(k)...

The Fine Art of Determining Securities Prices.
May 7, 2007... The notion of "price" is a deceptively simple one in today's financial environment. Different uses-auditing, risk management and trading-can dictate different price calculation methodologies. It's particularly tricky given today's vast array...

Comprehensive Data Key to Actionable Account Aggregation.
May 7, 2007... The independent broker/dealer marketplace now represents the fastest-growing distribution channel for providers of mutual funds, variable annuities and other packaged investments. Of the various distribution channels, independent intermediaries...

NASD Fines Fidelity B/Ds For Misleading Troops.
May 14, 2007... The NASD fined two Fidelity Investments broker/dealers-Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co. and Fidelity Distributors Corp.-$400,000 for distributing misleading performance information about investment plans sold primarily to...

Cox Renews His Technology Battle Cry: Calls it Major Weapon in The War Against Complexity'.
May 14, 2007... WASHINGTON-Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox renewed his battle cry in "the war against complexity" and reminded mutual fund executives that the weapon that will help win the war continues to be technology. "I've...

Internet Opens up Vast Product Arrays: Fund Firms Urged to Expand Consumer Choices.
May 14, 2007... WASHINGTON-The financial industry should pay close attention to what consumers are saying about it and look for niche product opportunities, according to Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and author of the book "The Long Tail:...

BISYS Sale Includes $36M Prenup'.
May 14, 2007... Details of the sale of BISYS Group of Roseland, N.J., to bank holding company Citigroup of New York for a total of $1.47 billion are intriguing. For one, Robert Casale, BISYS chairman and interim chief executive officer and president, was...

Is China's Equity Market Poised for a Violent Burst?
May 14, 2007... China's equity market has reached such a frenzy of irrational exuberance that Chinese authorities are not the only ones sounding warnings about the market becoming overheated. China's benchmark Shanghai Index soared 130% in 2006 and, since...

Week in Review.
May 14, 2007... A.G. Edwards Settles With SEC on Oversight Charges A.G. Edwards will pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $3.86 million to settle charges that it failed to supervise brokers who used deceptive means to engage in mutual fund market...

Executive Moves.(Helene Glozter joins Bridgewater Associates Inc.)(Alexander Backhaus joins Metzler/Payden)(Zibelli, Ron joins OppenheimerFunds)
May 14, 2007... SEC Enforcement Chief Glozter Joins Bridgewater Helene Glozter, co-head of enforcement in the New York office of the Securities and Exchange Commission since 2004, will be leaving the SEC this month to join Bridgewater Associates as...

Advice is Key to Getting On Advisers' SMA Platforms.
May 14, 2007... WASHINGTON-Financial advisers seek service above all else when it comes to picking separately managed account products for their platforms, according to panelists at the Money Management Institute's 10th Annual Conference here earlier this...

529 Calculators Would Better Educate Parents.(managing higher education costs)
May 14, 2007... NEW YORK-Future generations are going to be saddled with tremendous college debt if the financial industry doesn't do a better job of talking to families about the importance of saving for their children's higher education, according to...

UMAs: A Key Way to Reach the Mass Affluent.
May 14, 2007... By Brian Bono, CFA, Senior Investment Analyst, Brinker Capital, and Noreen Beaman, CPA, EVP, Strategic Planning, Brinker Capital Investing "science"-the proven principles of asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing-is no longer the...

Hedge Funds Increase Political Clout Via Lobbying, Donations.
May 21, 2007... Especially now that the news has leaked that hedge fund managers are raking in incredible salaries-some making more than $1 billion a year-Congress is undoubtedly going to be taking a serious look at increasing regulation of hedge funds,...

Results, Service Trump Exotic Products: Mutual Funds Expected to Continue Their Rule'.
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON-Investment companies interested in capturing more market share should not worry so much about new products, such as separately managed accounts, exchange-traded funds, or even funds mimicking alternative investments. ...

Experts: Get Into Investors' Heads.
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON-While fund companies do a good job of focusing on investor needs and expectations, to best help clients prepare for retirement, they need to first understand investor behavior, according to panelists at the Investment Company's...

Fund Firm Turns to Artificial Intelligence: Claims Computer Model Exceeds Quantitative Methods.
May 21, 2007... Registered investment advisory firm Legend Advisory Corp. of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., believes it has found the secret to successful investing through the use of predictive asset allocation. The firm's executives claim to be the first to apply...

Editor's Desk: Are Target-Date Funds Taking on Too Much Risk?
May 21, 2007... As the $144.5 billion playing field for target-date, or lifecycle, funds continues to get more and more crowded-last year fund companies introduced 302 target-date funds and assets soared 61%-the funds are diversifying their holdings to...

Week in Review.
May 21, 2007... Treadway Pays Second, $75,000 Fine to SEC Over Directed Brokerage Stephen Treadway, former chairman of PIMCO Funds and chief executive of the firm's brokerage, settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $75,000 for directing...

Executive Moves.(Penny Hill appointed as regional director ay Dreyfus Corp.)(Mark On appointed as senior vice president at American Century Investments Inc.)(Robert J. Guerin appointed as chief compliance officer at Evergreen Investments Inc.)
May 21, 2007... Hill Joins Dreyfus to Head Southern Sales Division Penny Hill has joined Dreyfus as regional director of its southern sales division, overseeing a team of external wholesalers covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,...

Distributors' Demands Pose Challenges for Small Funds.
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON-As the home office absorbs more of the functions formerly handled by financial advisers in the field, gatekeepers at these broker/dealers increasingly look for products that offer the total package: capacity, price, style, innovation...

Slogans Can Help Sear Fund Brands in Investors' Minds.
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON-Most people are familiar with the saying "A Diamond is Forever" and know it is the slogan for De Beers diamond jewelry, as it has been used by the company for the past 59 years. But can people recite a catchy slogan for a fund...

BISYS to Pay SEC $25M Over Accounting Errors.
May 28, 2007... The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that BISYS Group is paying $25 million in disgorgement and interest to settle charges of violating financial reporting, books and records and internal control provisions of the Securities...

Funds Increasingly Turn to Derivatives: But Lacking Technology, Rely on B/Ds, Utilities.
May 28, 2007... As the use of derivatives in mutual funds continues to grow, so will buy-side firms' reliance on third parties to handle post-trade processing, along with the search for employees who truly understand these complex trading contracts, according...

Forensic Research Gaining Traction.
May 28, 2007... Forensic research, which analyzes companies for accounting irregularities, is gaining traction in the financial industry again, as the market begins to turn flat, experts say. The analysis pays close attention to the footnotes on the...

Unique 529 Reports Pair Tuition Costs With Minimally Acceptable Returns.
May 28, 2007... Money Management Executive this week has released a comprehensive, unique set of 529 data to help mutual fund companies, financial advisers and their clients more accurately plan college savings in both the short- and long-term. Using...

Editor's Desk: Top Hedge Fund Managers May No Longer Rake in Billions of Dollars a Year.
May 28, 2007... Alpha magazine dropped its first shoe when it released the salaries of the top 100 hedge fund managers, with the top master of the universe, James Simons, earning an astonishing $1.7 billion in 2006 and the top 25 an average of more than half a...

Week in Review.(Securities and Exchange Commission on restitution money )(Janus and Invesco close to repaying investors)(Supreme Court to hear Municipal Bond Case)
May 28, 2007... SEC to Create Office Focused on Restitution The Securities and Exchange Commission will create an office focused solely on returning restitution money to investors harmed by stock fraud, and one of its first missions will be to return the...

Executive Moves.(Randall R. Lee resigned as regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission )(Peter Martin appointed as executive at IXIS Asset Management Global Associates )(Charles Schwab appoints Benjamin Bridgeman and Charles Goldman )
May 28, 2007... Lee to Step Down as SEC's L.A. Regional Director Randall R. Lee, regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission Los Angeles office, will step down at the end of June to pursue opportunities in the private sector. "Under...

A Case for the TuitionMAR.
May 28, 2007... As Money Management Executive launches this year's set of State Tuition Index and Datasheet reports, a new paradigm for evaluating college savings plan is introduced. With MME's TuitionMAR (minimally acceptable return) statistics, a set of core...

Trickle-Down Economics: Hedge Funds Aim Lower.
May 28, 2007... Call it trickle-down economics. As the hedge fund industry continues to grow, its distribution channels are shifting, and its aim is getting lower when it comes to the net worth of investors, according to a report from Tiburon Strategic...

Couples a Good Target Before They Tie the Knot.
May 28, 2007... Mutual fund companies and their financial adviser partners might start thinking about targeting engaged couples as clients, as it benefits couples to talk about finances before they get married and it is a way to reach new clients, experts...