Money Management Executive articles from October 2003

Money Management Executive archives from October 2003

At Deadline.(Alliance Capital suspends both a hedge fund executive and portfolio manager; notes other news)
October 6, 2003... Alliance Suspends Two in Fund Timing Investigation Admitting conflicts of interest regarding mutual fund trades, Alliance Capital last Tuesday said that it had suspended both a hedge fund executive and portfolio manager. The industry...

Hedge Funds Take SEC Proposals in Stride.
October 6, 2003... Hedge funds have long been dampened by the perpetual rain cloud of suspicion looming overhead, but several in the industry see regulators' proposals last week requiring advisors to register as investment advisors with the Securities and...

Fund Ad Rule Could Cause More Confusion.
October 6, 2003... New legislation aimed at providing greater balance in advertisements containing fund performance may open the door for firms to create even more misleading ads, industry critics claim. The crux of the new rule is that fund companies have to...

Mutual Funds' SMA Foray a Long Road.(Separately managed accounts)
October 6, 2003... Mutual fund companies trying to make a name for themselves in separately managed accounts are finding out that it is not for the feint of heart. In the last few years, a number of traditional fund companies have observed the amount of cash...

Safeco to Sell Investment Side of Business.(Safeco Corp. is selling its Life & Investments division)
October 6, 2003... Not surprisingly in the asset management business these days, companies that once thought they could do it all are now returning to their core businesses and product lines. The latest one to admit defeat was Seattle-based Safeco Corp.,...

Strong Wins Star Award' For Communications.(Strong Financial)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Strong Financial took home the "Star Award," for overall communications effort, considered the event's most prestigious prize, even as the firm is mired in the heart of the worst scandal in the history of the fund industry. Strong also won...

Morningstar, Lipper Reclassify Foreign Funds.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... On the heels of its re-categorization of U.S. funds, Morningstar this month is launching a new foreign funds classification system that the company hopes will aid fund-owners in investment decisions. The move follows a similar move by Lipper in...

Overseas Jobs Can Save Firms $25 Million a Year.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Financial service companies can expect a $25 million annual savings if they shift 1,000 jobs overseas, according to Cutting Edge Information. With call centers in places like India, where employees reportedly have greater enthusiasm and the...

State Street Taps Wilkins To Head up Distribution.(State Street Research & Management appointed Kevin N. Wilkins head of distribution for the firm's institutional and retail businesses)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... State Street Research & Management has named Kevin N. Wilkins head of distribution for all of the firm's institutional and retail businesses. He reports to Richard S. Davis, president and chief executive officer, who said in a statement that...

Baker Becomes Chief Exec Of HSBC North America.(Steve Baker)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... HSBC Asset Management has promoted Steve Baker to chief executive officer of HSBC Asset Management North America. He reports both to Alain Dromer, global chief executive officer of HSBC, and to Leslie Bains, senior executive vice president and...

Schwab Promotes Heilman To Run Advisor Network.(Schwab Institutional has promoted Edie Heilman to run the Schwab Advisor Network)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Schwab Institutional has promoted Edie Heilman to run the Schwab Advisor Network, a nationwide referral service for affluent investors. She succeeds Rob Klapper, who was named a senior vice president of service offers in Schwab's marketing...

Sem Joins Integrity as Chief Compliance Officer.(Integrity Mutual Funds hired Brenda Sem as chief compliance officer of mutual fund operations)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Integrity Mutual Funds has hired Brenda Sem as chief compliance officer of mutual fund operations. She was previously senior internal auditor of Alerus Financial and has also worked for Brady, Martz & Associates and American West Insurance Co....

Mills Now SVP, Business Development for Fiduciary.(Wendy J. Mills appointed senior vice president for individual business development for Fiduciary Trust)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Fiduciary Trust, a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, has appointed Wendy J. Mills as senior vice president for individual business development. In this role, she will advise individuals and families on investment management, trust and estate...

Former SEC Accountant Becomes Forward Trustee.(Kenneth Domingues joins board of directors of the Forward Funds)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... Kenneth Domingues, a former senior Securities and Exchange Commission accountant, has joined the board of directors of the Forward Funds. At the SEC, Domingues was chief accountant for the division of investment management. He has also worked...

Will Market Rally Dampen Long/Short Funds' Luster?
October 6, 2003... During the recent bear market, long/short and market-neutral funds were pitched as alternative investments or absolute return havens that could provide positive returns with dampened volatility. But with the S&P 500 Index returning more...

At Deadline.
October 13, 2003... Wachovia Unit Refocuses On Wealth Sweet Spot' Wachovia's $63 billion wealth management unit is refocusing to target business owners, executives and professionals with $2.5 million to $15 million of assets as its new "sweet spot." Stan...

Fund Scandal on Brink of Exploding.
October 13, 2003... Those who have maintained the holier-than-thou attitude of the mutual fund industry and have believed that this scandal, too, shall pass, shouldn't kid themselves. It's time for the industry to turn in its halo. New York State Attorney...

Cracking the Fair Value Pricing Conundrum.
October 13, 2003... NEW YORK The recent market timing and late trading allegations brought forth by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have sparked a renewed interest in how mutual fund firms determine fair value. The crux of the matter is that many fund...

Planners' Grasp of SMAs Moves Forward.
October 13, 2003... It takes society 30 years to become comfortable with a new technology be it steel plows, electric lights or video recorders. The device doesn't matter. By that standard, financial advisers are doing pretty well with separately managed...

In Search of a Salve for the Corporate Mindset.(Industry Overview)
October 13, 2003... Insidious greed notwithstanding, corporate governance is the Achilles heel of U.S. public companies. The analyst research scandal, the collapse of Enron and WorldCom and alleged illegal trading practices in the mutual fund industry all could...

ABN Amro Selects BONY To Support SMA Services.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... The Bank of New York has been selected by ABN Amro Investment Fund Services to provide outsourcing services for its new separately managed account product. BONY, through its BNY Smart Source business, will be responsible for all middle-...

FOLIOfn Platforms Now Embrace SMAs, Wraps.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... FOLIOfn has expanded its FOLIO Advisor and FOLIO Manager platforms to accommodate financial advisers, separately managed account managers and mutual fund wrap sponsors. The existing platform, which supported mutual funds and stocks, was...

Court Orders Legg Mason To Pay $20M for Copyright.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... A Baltimore court has reportedly ordered Legg Mason to pay newsletter publisher Lowry's Reports $20 million for sharing one paid $700 subscription to Lowry's Market Trend Analysis with more than 1,300 employees over the company's intranet. ...

To Run Newly Acquired Funds, Integrity Hires PM.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... Following its acquisition of the Williamette Family of Funds, Integrity Mutual Funds has hired F. Martin Koenig to manage four funds with $60 million of assets. The four funds have been merged into four of Integrity's funds. Koenig was...

Artzt, Former P&G CEO, Becomes Senior Advisor.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... For Gabelli Group Capital Edwin L. Artzt, a former chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble, has joined Gabelli Group Capital as a senior advisor. He will provide strategic counsel to the firm's private equity portfolio, which has been...

Bear Stearns Names Bliss Private Client Director.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... Betsy Bliss has joined Bear Stearns as a managing director in the private client services division, based in San Francisco. The hire is part of the firm's ongoing plan to grow this business by attracting top producers in the industry. ...

Allinson to Assist Phelps as Dresdner Trading Captain.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... Dresdner RCM Global Investors has hired Edward Allinson to work with Mark Phelps as co-chief investment officer for global equities, running nearly $2 billion in assets. He reports to Ian Vose, chief investment officer. Most recently,...

Granito Takes Charge Of Federated's Research.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2003... Michael R. Granito has joined Federated Investors as a senior vice president and head of capital market research. He reports to Keith Schappert, president and CEO of Federated. In his new job, Granito is working with both the firm's...

Jobs, Earnings Will Foretell Whether Recovery is for Real.
October 13, 2003... Two consecutive quarters of job gains and strong fourth-quarter earnings reports will tell fund managers and investors whether or not the U.S. economy is back on track and the market correction and profit-taking that took hold in many sectors...

At Deadline.(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... Barclays Offers First ETFs In a 401(k) Savings Plan Exchange-traded funds, which have quickly become a popular alternative to mutual funds since their debut two years ago, just took another giant step towards developing mass-market appeal:...

Fund Execs Fail to Certify SEC Documents.
October 20, 2003... At least two fund groups have now experienced, firsthand, the impact of new requirements mandated with the enactment last year of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. That legislative enactment aimed, among other things, to stem corporate fraud and make top...

Scandal Unlikely to Renew Baker Bill Push.
October 20, 2003... Even with the recent scandal unfolding in the fund industry, the Mutual Fund Integrity and Fee Transparency Act of 2003 is heading for its twilight rather than the limelight, industry observers said. Even so, the fund industry is likely to...

Franklin's Long SMA Ties Earn it Success.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Separately managed accounts have become the hip product in the financial services industry in the past few years, with many traditional mutual fund firms now looking to penetrate the space. But one fund firm, Franklin Templeton, has been at it...

The Art of True Fair Value to Stem Market Timing.(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... As recent events make clear, market timing continues to be a significant concern for the mutual fund industry. The launch of federal and state investigations into an array of mutual fund houses has created a wave of public pressure to ensure...

PFPC Offers Customer ID In Line With Patriot Act.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... PFPC is offering a new service to help mutual fund companies meet the requirements of the customer identification program (CIP) regulations of the USA Patriot Act, which went into effect at the beginning of this month. The CIP rules help...

Wholesalers' Comp Rises 3% in 2002, DGL Finds.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Cash compensation for wholesalers of investment products and services increased 3% in 2002, according to executive search and consulting firm DGL Consultants. Wholesalers of mutual funds, annuities, managed money and retirement services...

ICI to Form Late Trading, Short-Term Task Forces.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... The Investment Company Institute's board of directors is forming two separate task forces to concentrate on preventing late trading and short-term trading. The board will ask each task force to work closely with the SEC, the NASD and other...

Connecticut Attorneys Form 40 Act' Association.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... A high concentration of insurance companies in the state and a desire by Connecticut attorneys specializing in investment management to identify and confront industry issues, has spawned the formation of a new organization, the Investment...

Integrated Taps Meier As Client Services Director.(John Meier has been hired as client services director, in charge of senior relationship support, at Integrated Fund Services)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... John Meier has joined Integrated Fund Services as client services director, in charge of senior relationship support. Meier has been in the business for 15 years, working for companies including SunGard Investor Accounting Systems and the...

Waddell Announces Hire, New Posts in Inst'l Group.(Waddell & Reed has promoted Nikki Newton to senior vice president and director of defined benefits and hired Clayton Johnston)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Waddell & Reed recently announced the promotion of Nikki Newton to senior vice president and director of defined benefits. He previously was an institutional client representative in the asset management group. Waddell has also hired...

Curtis Becomes MD for Kinetics' Broker/Dealer.(KBD Securities has hired Scott Curtis as managing director of equity trading )(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... KBD Securities, the broker/dealer for Kinetics Asset Management, advisor to the Kinetics Mutual Funds, has hired Scott Curtis as managing director of equity trading. Curtis was previously with Credit Lyonnais Securities, where he worked in...

Former General Counsel at Merrill Now at Kirkpatrick.(Philip L. Kirstein has joined the investment management practice at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Philip L. Kirstein recently came out of a brief retirement to join the investment management practice at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. Kirstein was previously general counsel and senior vice president for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. ...

Van Zandt Oversees FRC's Mutual Fund Product Line.(Laura Van Zandt has joined Financial Research Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Financial Research Corp. has hired Laura Van Zandt as director of mutual fund distribution research, a new position in which she is responsible for FRC's mutual fund product line. This entails oversight of existing products and the development...

Fund/SPEED: An Open Pathway to Reach Sales Partners.(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... Mutual fund companies face an array of competitive challenges in marketing and selling their products. Chief among them is providing service and support to intermediaries who want a convenient way to access client information that is scattered...

Intergenerational Estate Planning Comes of Age.
October 20, 2003... More than a decade into the intergenerational transfer of the $10.4 trillion that in 1993 Cornell economists Robert Avery and Michael Rendall forecasted would pass from one generation to the next between 1990 and 2040, financial planners and...

Looming Pension Crisis Seen as Threat to 401(k) Vendors.(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... The downward pressure on 401(k) and other retirement plan balances over the past few years will mean problems for employers but especially for the millions of workers who are ill-prepared to fund their retirement. And that will put the...

N.Y. 529 Switch Signals Gain for Adviser Model.
October 20, 2003... New York State may have changed the way mutual fund companies compete in the 529 college savings plan market when it replaced TIAA-CREF as the manager of its program with Upromise Investments, Vanguard and FleetBoston's Columbia Management...

Private College Group Offers Prepaid 529.
October 20, 2003... The Independent 529 Plan, a new prepaid college tuition plan managed by TIAA-CREF and run by a consortium of more than 220 private colleges, launched last month. The program, which has been in the works for five years, will market itself...

Results, Rather than Rapport, Matter to Wealthy.
October 20, 2003... Financial advisers don't always see eye-to-eye with their affluent clients, according to a recent study by Fidelity Investments. The nationwide study, which surveyed 510 affluent investors and 320 advisers, revealed differences in perception...

Advisors See Diversification Gaining Steam.(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... Institutional investment advisors forecast a continued emphasis on diversification including into mutual funds and an increasing interest in non-traditional asset classes for the upcoming year. "The diversification theme continues to make...

How Automation Can Deter Market Timing in Funds.
October 20, 2003... For years, mutual fund managers have coped with sudden inflows of cash followed by abrupt redemptions, the result of market timers attempting to take advantage of short-term variances between a fund's daily NAV price and the prices of the...

At Deadline.(Bank One replaces two executives after internal fund-related investigation )
October 27, 2003... Fund Investigation Claims More Jobs at Bank One Heads are rolling all over the mutual fund industry, as allegations that funds gave special trading privileges to big clients are rattling many of the industry's top firms, and some say this...

SEC Exams to Focus on Executive Outlook.
October 27, 2003... NEW ORLEANS - Regulators at the Investment Company Institute's Operations Conference here, in the crescent city, said they will be focusing more on electronic communications and management's attitude towards internal controls as they go...

SMAs to Answer Trillion-Dollar Question.(Separately managed account industry is at crossroads)
October 27, 2003... NEW YORK Despite enjoying exceptional growth over the past five years, the separately managed account industry is now at a crossroads. The fragmentation of its infrastructure and growing operational challenges pose a significant hurdle for...

Stock Funds Prove Strong Amid Scandal.
October 27, 2003... Despite the increasing number of securities fraud allegations at major fund shops, investors' doggedness in the face of adversity boosted stock funds to another strong performance last month. Investors added an estimated $19.5 billion to...

Operations Execs Warn of Growing Identity Theft.
October 27, 2003... NEW ORLEANS With all the shady activity going on within the fund industry of late, a panel of industry experts here at the Investment Company Institute's Operations Conference warned attendees of another set of criminals: those from outside...

Fidelity Tells Big Board to Move to Electronic System.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... Fidelity Investments' head of global equity trading, Scott DeSano, recently said that the human-based specialist system at the New York Stock Exchange should be eliminated in favor of an electronic system similar to that used by Nasdaq. ...

Pershing Creates Rental Managed Account Platform.(Bank of New York uses Pershing subsidiary to create way for broker/dealer firms to rent a managed account platform for their advisers)(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... Looking to tap its 800 independent broker/dealer clients and 100,000 reps already using its Pershing subsidiary for custody services, The Bank of New York has created a way for these B/D firms to rent a managed account platform for their...

With Marts on the Rebound, 401(k)s Return to Equities.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... Investors in 401(k)s "appear to be encouraged by the improving stock market during the second quarter," said Jim McCool, senior vice president for Charles Schwab Investor Services, which reviews investor activity for self-directed 401(k)...

C. William Criss Now MD For Deutsche Wealth Unit.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management recently hired C. William Criss as managing director and head of its San Francisco office, a newly created position that the 33-year financial services veteran assumed last month. In this position,...

GAM Hires Sales Director For Institutional Business.(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... GAM has hired Craig Brownell as director, institutional, a job in which he will be responsible for development of the firm's institutional business. "We are seeing increasing demand from institutions for funds-of-hedge funds as a component...

McCamish Promotes Executives, Reorganizes Operations Structure.(McCamish Systems)(Brief Article)
October 27, 2003... McCamish Systems has reorganized its operations division and promoted a number of its executives in the process, a result of continued client growth from new and existing clients, Gordan Beckham, Jr., president and CEO of McCamish, recently...

M&A's Still Strong Among Smaller Players.(Some investment management companies are still shopping for appealing mutual fund complexes)
October 27, 2003... Despite the scandalous black cloud that has settled over the fund industry, several investment management companies are still happily shopping for appealing mutual fund complexes, or even a single fund or two. At the same time, a...