Money Management Executive articles from October 2006

Money Management Executive archives from October 2006

Spitzer Sues J.W. Seligman For Rampant' Timing.
October 2, 2006... New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against J.W. Seligman and its president, Brian Zino, on Tuesday in New York Supreme Court, charging the company with entering into "rampant" market-timing arrangements. The suit also...

Board Reporting: A Delicate Balance.(Boards of directors )
October 2, 2006... ORLANDO, Fla.-As mutual fund boards assume greater responsibility-and regulators continue to monitor them more closely-the demands on management are likewise increasing, making reporting procedures more complex. "Preparing for these...

Fund Mergers Take Time, Cooperation.
October 2, 2006... ORLANDO, Fla.-Amid speculation about whether the potential sale of Putnam Investments and MFS Investments could provide an opportunity for their parent companies, Marsh & McLennan and Sun Life Financial, to shed themselves of struggling...

Open Architecture Key to SMA Platforms.(Separately Managed Accounts )
October 2, 2006... CHICAGO-As more banks weigh whether or not to offer separately managed accounts, their key considerations should include pricing, training, compensation and an open architecture platform that includes a mix of proprietary and outside investment...

SEC to Spend $54 Million To Revamp EDGAR.(Securities and Exchange Commission )(electronic data gathering analysis & retrieval )(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The EDGAR system is about to get a makeover. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox last week announced a $54 million initiative to take the 1980's-era system into the interactive age. The SEC has contracted with three...

Seven Companies Sued For Excessive 401(k) Fees.
October 2, 2006... Seven major corporations have been sued in federal courts for allegedly allowing mutual fund firms to charge millions of dollars in excessive 401(k) fees through hidden revenue-sharing agreements. Combined, the companies named in the suits have...

Executive Moves.(Russell Investment Group-Benjamin Pritchett-Brown )(Kaufman Rossin Fund Services- Christine Egan )(Morningstar - Liz Michaels , Michele Gambera , James Xiong )
October 2, 2006... Morningstar Appoints Four Executives at Ibbotson Morningstar has hired four executives to work at its Ibbotson Associates subsidiary, all of whom are transferring directly from Morningstar or who previously worked at the company earlier on...

Wachovia Ordered to Pay Fired Broker $3.8 Million.(Wachovia Securities )(Frederick O'Meally- Prudential Securities )
October 2, 2006... Frederick O'Meally, a former senior vice president and top-producing broker with Prudential Securities and then Wachovia Securities after the firms merged their retail brokerage divisions in 2003, has won a $3.8 million NASD arbitration award...

Banks Try to Muscle in on Brokerages' SMA Market Share.
October 2, 2006... CHICAGO-Banks hold only a 7.8% market share of the separately managed account industry, and as they try and gain assets from the registered independent advisors and wirehouses that dominate the market, they will be faced with challenges of...

U.S. Bancorp Broadens Its Open Architecture.
October 2, 2006... U.S. Bancorp's private-client group has started a nonproprietary separately managed account platform in an effort to bolster the options available to its customers. Londa Dewey, the president of the Minneapolis banking company's...

Scudder Settles With SEC On Directed Brokerage.(Deutsche Asset Management- Scudder Funds)(Securities and Exchange Commission )(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Deutsche Asset Management has agreed to pay $19.3 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of directed brokerage and revenue sharing by its Scudder Funds division. The fine includes disgorgement of $14.2 million and $2.1...

22c-2 Guidelines to Kick Start Activity.(securities law)
October 9, 2006... After more than a year of tensely standing by, fund companies and their go-betweens now have the guidelines they need to effectively implement the redemption fee rule. Experts say that means the once-stalled process of executing...

Manager Sees Dow Approaching 16,000: Tracks Strong Growth Following Mid-Term Elections.(Curtis Teberg - Teberg Fund )(Dow Jones Industrial Average)
October 9, 2006... The Dow Jones Industrial Average kept shattering historic highs last week, climbing first to 11,727.34 on Tuesday, then to 11,850 Wednesday, but that's nothing compared to what it could do next year, said fund-of-funds manager Curtis Teberg of...

Funds to Increase Trading Investments: Spending to Reach $757 Million by 2010: Celent.
October 9, 2006... Total global spending by asset managers on trading systems will grow 19% over the next four years, from $634 million this year to $757 million by 2010, according to a report, "Trends in Asset Management Trading Technology," by Celent of Boston....

SEC Charges Ex-Broker From Wall Street Access.(Securities and Exchange Commission )(Gene Mancinelli)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Gene Mancinelli, a former broker with Wall Street Access, for allowing a hedge fund to place more than 2,000 improper trades in mutual funds between April 2001 and October...

SEC Bars DeMatteo, Former Cornerstone Chief.(Securities and Exchange Commission )(James A. DeMatteo )(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred James A. DeMatteo from the securities industry. While president and part owner of Cornerstone Equity Advisors, which closed its doors in 2002, DeMatteo, along with another party not named,...

Tax Law to Prompt Further 529 Investments, Poll Finds.
October 9, 2006... A poll commissioned by Fidelity Investments shows that now that the law has been permanently extended to allow parents to make tax free withdrawals from 529s, more than half of parents said they are likely to open a 529 plan. Currently, only...

Executive Moves.(Diamond Hill Investment Group Inc.-William C. Dierker )(Franklin Templeton Investments - Robert A. Bonner, Jr. )(BISYS Fund Services- David J. Giannone , Joseph A. Miskel)
October 9, 2006... BISYS Fund Services Hires Giannone, Miskel as VPs BISYS Fund Services has hired David J. Giannone and Joseph A. Miskel, Jr. as vice presidents of global business development. Giannone, who has nearly 15 years of experience in the...

Using Biometric Technology to Identify Investors.
October 9, 2006... In the high-tech heist film "Sneakers," a team of computer hackers attempts to physically break into the secured secret headquarters of a criminal organization. Among the various barriers protecting the facility, the team encounters a...

John Hancock Launches New Ad Campaign.
October 9, 2006... John Hancock Financial Services of Boston this month launched a $25 million to $35 million advertising campaign to highlight changes to its brand and make consumers aware of its full range of investment product offerings, now extending beyond...

Fidelity Offers Annuities To 401(k) Participants.(Fidelity Investments)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Fidelity Investments has introduced an annuity purchase program, Fidelity Lifetime Income Solutions, that will enable 401(k) plan participants to convert part of their savings into a pension-like guaranteed retirement income stream. "It is...

Teamwork Improves Vendor Oversight.
October 16, 2006... HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.-To fully protect investors, adequately answer to their boards and best satisfy regulators, fund executives must have a solid understanding and strong oversight over each vendor with which they contract. That means...

Data Security is Policies, Not Technology.
October 16, 2006... HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.-From hand-held devices that can execute trades, to networks able to beam reams of information to third-party transfer agents halfway across the globe, technology is evolving at lightning speed, sending billions more...

Domestic Equity Funds Post 1.98% in 3Q.
October 16, 2006... Due to tensions in the Middle East, skyrocketing oil and gas prices and inflationary concerns, the third quarter started off sluggish. Equity funds in July returned a negative 1.1%, but as the Federal Open Market Committee began to ease up on...

Morningstar Offers New Fund Performance Tool.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Morningstar has launched a new performance tool, Morningstar Investor Return, which will provide data on open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to capture how the average investor fares in a fund over a period of time as they buy in...

NASD Fines Oppenheimer $800K for Report Failure.(National Association of Securities Dealers)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... The NASD fined Oppenheimer & Co. $800,000 for failing to timely and accurately report 6,100 municipal securities transactions between January 2003 and May 2004, as well as not responding to the regulator's request for information in September...

Executive Moves.(Peter Gallary joins Investment Company Institute)(Mark Friebel joins Fidelity Investments)(Darryl S. Grayson joins Wilmington Trust )
October 16, 2006... Gallary Joins ICI as COO The Investment Company Institute has hired Peter Gallary as chief operating officer. Gallary replaces Larry Maffia, who left the ICI in July to become president of ICI Mutual Insurance. Gallary will lead the...

Funds Testing Hybrid Wholesaling' Model.(management)
October 16, 2006... To cut down on distribution costs, more fund companies may hire "hybrid wholesalers"-salespeople who can perform both internal and external wholesaling duties. Nonetheless, the hybrid model is still developing and there aren't any clear...

More Funds Placing Their Bets on China.(foreign direct investment)
October 16, 2006... By all accounts, the equity markets in Taiwan, the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong are red-hot these days, and mutual fund managers are paying a lot closer attention to these markets. Two new funds that will invest all of their...

NASD Fines Citizens Bank For Annuity, 529 Sales.(National Association of Securities Dealers)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... The NASD has fined Citizens Bank's broker/dealer subsidiary, CCO Investment Services, $850,000 for not properly supervising sales of 529 college savings plans and annuities to ensure that the products were suitable for investors. The bank also...

Healthy Returns Push Bonuses Higher.
October 23, 2006... The early drumbeat on bonuses at fund companies is that they are expected to be higher than last year due to positive returns and high incentive fees. As recruiters see it, numbers compared to last year are spectacular. Hedge fund...

More Players to Enter SMA Market.(separately managed accounts)
October 23, 2006... NEW YORK-The separately managed account business will flourish, as many firms that have not previously offered SMAs will decide to do so over the next few years. But while this is likely to boost assets and the number of investors in SMAs,...

ING Settles With N.Y., N.H. For $32.75 Million.(New York and New Hampshire )(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... ING settled with New York and New Hampshire regulators for paying up to $3 million a year to the teachers unions in those states to steer business its way. ING's settlement with New York is for $30 million, while it is paying $2.75 million...

Ford Motor Plans to Drop Magellan From 401(k).(Fidelity Bank of Indiana)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Ford Motor reportedly sent notices to employees last month telling them it will drop Fidelity's Magellan fund and three other funds from two other companies from its 401(k) lineup. The funds will be closed to new investments on Nov. 6, and...

Executive Moves.(Martin L. Flanagan joins Investment Company Institute)(John T. Dugan joins Securities and Exchange Commission)(Donald E. Froude joins Legg Mason )
October 23, 2006... Amvescap's Flanagan Re-Elected as ICI Chair Martin L. Flanagan, president and chief executive officer of Amvescap, has been re-elected chairman of the Investment Company Institute, a one-year term. Paul Haaga, executive vice president of...

Millennials: Conservative, Loyal, Affluent.
October 23, 2006... HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.-Enough with the marketing bias toward Baby Boomers; it's time for mutual fund companies to move on to the Millennials. "They are the most numerous, affluent and ethnically diverse generation in American history,"...

New Funds Take Unique Approach.
October 23, 2006... Three new funds with unique investment approaches recently debuted, two of them last week. The Blue Large Cap Fund and the Blue Small Cap Fund, managed by Blue Investment Management of New York, screen for socially responsible characteristics...

Mutual Fund Assets Top$10 Trillion For First Time.(Brief article)
October 30, 2006... Mutual fund assets surpassed the $10 trillion mark for the first time, reaching $10.32 billion, data from Bobroff Consulting and Lipper shows. Fidelity Investments is, once again, the largest fund company in the nation, with $1.1 trillion...

MFS Off The Table May Mean Tough Times for Company, Putnam.(MFS Investments and Putnam Investments)
October 30, 2006... Once upon a time, mutual fund complexes were the cash cows of their annuity company parents. Not anymore. The big bad mutual fund scandals changed that fairytale relationship by drawing greater attention to these companies' tactics, and in...

Fidelity's Emotional Appeal: myPlan Rolls Out New Retirement Planning Tools.
October 30, 2006... NEW YORK-Fidelity Investments is playing with-and off-investors' emotions. And when it comes to retirement planning, more often than not, those emotions are negative. "It takes too much time, it's too difficult, and it's not spontaneous at...

More Firms Training Advisers on 529s.
October 30, 2006... While the cost of a college education increases every year, far too few parents are saving for their children's future. As a result, more mutual fund companies, recognizing the need for parents to prepare, are training advisers to discuss...

Increase Default Rates in 401(k) Auto Enroll: Hewitt.(Brief article)
October 30, 2006... While automatically enrolling workers in a 401(k) plan typically results in 90% participation, up from 68%, workers tend to keep contribution rates at the default level-and as a result will be ill-prepared for retirement. This is according to...

Transamerica Expands Retirement Plan Options.(Brief article)
October 30, 2006... Transamerica Retirement Services has added 50 investment options to its retirement platform, the largest number it has ever added at one time. In so doing, the platform now has a total of 144 options from 30 investment companies, Transamerica...

Executive Moves.(new appointments)
October 30, 2006... Envision Promotes Kan to President, Jones to EVP Envision Financial has promoted Tim Kan from chief technology officer to president, a position in which he will focus on legal, financial and administrative issues. Satnam Gambhir, formerly...

Lesser Known Pension Act Provision Confounds Funds.
October 30, 2006... A little discussed provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which President Bush signed into law this past August, has investment management firms scrambling to understand its full ramifications. The provision allows for...

Brokerages Reflect on Supervisory Control Regs.(Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. survey)(New York Stock Exchange rules)
October 30, 2006... Now that brokerage firms have had a full year to comply with new supervisory control regulations from the New York Stock Exchange and the NASD, they can reflect on lessons learned and how, going forward, their chief executive officers can do a...