Investment News articles from January 2004

Investment News archives from January 2004

C. Kim Goodwin, Chief investment officer, equities, State Street Research and Management Co., Boston; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Assets under management: $46.4 billion; she oversees $14.2 billion Forecast: Ms. Goodwin anticipates steady growth in 2004 for both the stock market and the economy. But that growth, she said, is...

Greg Valliere, Chief political analyst, Schwab Washington Research Group; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Forecast: Mr. Valliere's group is telling people that the United States should experience gross domestic product growth of 4% "or a little better for the entire year, with continued very low inflation and some...

Frederick Sears Jr., Portfolio manager, Eastern Point Advisors Twenty Fund (ICTWX), Lynnfield, Mass. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Assets under management: $9.8 million Forecast: The good times are likely over for shares of technology companies, said Mr. Sears. A self-described contrarian, he said it's time to take money off the table...

Julie Van Cleave, Managing director and portfolio manager, Deutsche Asset Management, New York; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Assets under management: $685 billion Forecast: If 2003 was the year of economic recovery, 2004 will be the year of growth. But in 2004, the global economy will be coming along for the ride, said Ms. Van...

Wendell L. Perkins, Chief investment officer, Johnson Asset Management Inc., Racine, Wis. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Assets under management: $700 million Forecast: After last year's roaring market rebound, Mr. Perkins thinks stock prices are running out of room. Expectations of a stronger U.S. economy pushed stock...

Glenn T. Regan, Managing director and chief investment officer, Smith Barney Inc.'s Consulting Group, Wilmington, Del. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Assets under management: $222.9 billion Forecast: Economic growth is moving along at a nice pace, but expect some bumps in the road in 2004, Mr. Regan said. Tax cuts and waves of mortgage refinancing...

Michael A. Torres, Chief executive and portfolio manager, Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities LLC, Berkeley, Calif. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall Assets under management: $2 billion Forecast: Investors who carefully bide their time in 2004 will be richly rewarded, Mr. Torres predicts. "Tentative is a good word," he said. "You've got to be...

Richard Schroeder, Executive vice president, Schroeder Braxton & Vogt Inc., Amherst, N.Y. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Assets under management: $113 million Forecast: Politics will be a major factor behind the continued improvement that Mr. Schroeder expects to see in the stock market in 2004. Interest rates will go...

Warren J. Isabelle, President, Ironwood Capital Management LLC, Boston; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Assets under management: $580 million Forecast: For a self-proclaimed bear, Mr. Isabelle sounds mighty bullish these days. "I think things are picking up rather snappily," said the...

James W. Paulsen, Chief investment strategist, Wells Capital Management Inc., San Francisco; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Assets under management: $116 billion Forecast: Unease still hangs over the market despite last year's strong returns for stock, said Mr. Paulsen, who is based in Minneapolis. At the end of 2003, some...

Mark Headley, President and portfolio manager, Matthews International Capital Management LLC, San Francisco; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Assets under management: $1.8 billion in seven Asia-specific mutual funds Forecast: After spending most of the past decade trying to convince U.S. investors that the Asian markets shouldn't be ignored,...

Theodore Parrish, Principal, director of investments, Henssler Asset Management LLC, Marietta, Ga. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Assets under management: $900 million Forecast: In 2004, it is OK to say "bull market" again, according to Mr. Parrish. The co-portfolio manager of the Henssler Equity Fund, a large-cap-blend...

Thomas Grzymala, President, Alexandria (Va.) Financial Associates Ltd. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Assets under management: $75 million Forecast: The economy will continue to improve, but spectacular growth will be held in check by factors such as substantial government, corporate and personal...

Ryan Jacob, Chairman and chief investment officer, Jacob Asset Management LLC, New York; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Assets under management: $73 million Forecast: Professional stock pickers should be prepared to sweat a little in 2004, Mr. Jacob said. Unlike in 2003, when many a stock climbed on the...

Frank Fernandez, Director of research and chief economist, Securities Industry Association, New York; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Forecast: Most of the Securities Industry Association's brokerage firm members predict that 2004 economic growth will range from 3.6% to 4.5%, and Mr. Fernandez said the consensus figure is about 4%. The...

Gary Pollock, President, Bay Isle Financial LLC, Oakland, Calif. Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall Assets under management: $1.1 billion Forecast: Mr. Pollock, a former executive with ChevronTexaco Corp. of San Ramon, Calif., is optimistic about stock prices. His optimism is the result of witnessing...

Charles Gradante, Managing principal, Hennessee Group LLC, New York; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Assets under supervision: $1 billion Forecast: "I think the biggest risk out there right now is in the high-yield and distressed-bond sectors," said Mr. Gradante, whose firm allocates client assets into...

Sam Jones, President, J-Group/RE Jones & Associates Inc., Denver; Educated guesses: While some sipped Cristal as 2003 ended, our crystal ball crew focused on '04. Their picks:.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Assets under management: $91 million Forecast: Mr. Jones sees the decline of the U.S. dollar over the past year as an immediate precursor to a period of rising interest rates, which could ultimately...

Street Wise: Value fund manager leaves no stone unturned.(The Markets)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin From where Robert Unger sits, value is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Mr. Unger, manager of the $310 million Columbia Strategic Investor Fund (CSVFX), has proved he knows no boundaries when it comes to...

Reverse Spin: Enron's Fastow scrambles to save skin.(Briefs)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller Efforts to turn the mastermind of the Enron scandal into a witness for the prosecution have suffered a setback. Andrew S. Fastow, Enron Corp.'s former CFO, is negotiating a plea bargain that would send him to prison...

A nasty surprise on dividends; Advisers, investors may be caught unawares by tax rule change.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall A dividend tax rule change may catch some investors and advisers by surprise. The new rule may also put the interests of broker-dealers, stockbrokers and their clients in conflict with one another, according to...

A new niche with the rich: Creating alternative funds; Emerald Asset Advisors unveils a hybrid index.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Some investment advisers and brokers, spurred by the three-year falling market that finally turned around last year, are creating or selling a variety of alternative investments to boost returns for their wealthy...

Fund pioneer remembered for his passion, innovation; Rydex's `Skip' Viragh revolutionized industry.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Albert "Skip'' Viragh, the founder of Rydex Funds in Rockville, Md., built a reputation among the financial adviser community for his innovative thinking. Mr. Viragh, who died Dec. 11 at age 62, is generally...

Short Interests: No longer the Susan Lucci of Morningstar awards.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller, Jeff Benjamin and David Hoffman After being shut out for 16 years, The Vanguard Group Inc. in Mal- vern, Pa., has an active-management team working for it that is worthy of a Morningstar Inc. annual mutual fund award....

At the Bell.(Late News)
January 12, 2004... New standards may help fee disclosure * Investment firms reporting performance in accordance with standards established by the Association for Investment Management and Research should be prepared to start focusing more attention...

You can't always get what you want ... Planners disappointed over level of service.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller There is a disconnect between what financial planners want and the services they get from asset managers, broker-dealers and custodians, according to a study commissioned by the Financial Planning Association. The...

4 p.m. fund close still open to question; Misimpression has money funds concerned.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Many in the money management industry think a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule would establish a 4 p.m. cutoff time for the purchase and redemption of all mutual fund shares. But a close look at the...

Advisers want fund fees set by industry, not government; Make them lower, they say, but don't impose price controls.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Financial advisers want lower mutual fund fees, but they are wary of New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer's use of mutual fund enforcement cases to require fund companies to lower their charges. Advisers...

New page in Merrill's playbook: An owner's manual; Streamlining may help brokers document compliance.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: David R. Evanson Retail brokerage may be one of those businesses that would work much better if it weren't for the clients. And the experience that some clients have when they open accounts at major financial institutions leaves...

Taking Sides: NYSE must clean up its own corral.(Opinion)
January 12, 2004... Who knew that Dick Grasso was actually a member of the James gang? That is the only rational explanation for the formation of a posse - comprising New York State Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer, the Securities and Exchange Commission and...

One on One: "Retail investors ... will continue to be attracted to separate accounts; you see what you own".(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Financial advisers say their conversations with clients have been remarkably easier now that the stock market has improved. After all, when advisers can point to improving returns, clients are bound to be pleased....

Monday Morning: Other investment options may gain favor.(News)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Mike Clowes The mutual fund bubble has burst. The taint of scandal has pricked it, and mutual funds will never again grow as fast as they did in the last decade of the 20th century. Mutual fund growth in that decade was a...

Experts underestimated extent of market's rebound in 2003.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Few people predicted that 2003 would mark the triumphant return of the bull. In fact, of the 17 financial advisers, portfolio managers and other industry veterans interviewed by InvestmentNews in last...

Market rally, though tempered, likely to continue; Stocks to remain only game in town.(2004 Economic Outlook)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller The bad news about 2004 is that the easy money was made last year. The good news is that the equity market comeback isn't quite over yet. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index will likely rise between 5% and 10%...

At Issue: The aftershock from 'shocked, appalled' letter.(Opinion)
January 12, 2004... I was deeply disturbed to read the Dec. 15 letter [`Reader is shocked, appalled'] from Charles Langenhop regarding your article in the previous week's issue, "Gay couples to reap financial benefits.'' I had thought that this kind of stark...

Taking Sides: Hold the applause for Thain.(Opinion)
January 12, 2004... Pardon us if we don't join in the almost universal applause that greeted the mid-December appointment of John Thain as CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. The president of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York will take up his new...

News is good, but ... Regulators' pressure a problem for indies.(InvestmentNews Round Table)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly The opportunities for growth in the independent-broker-dealer industry have never been more apparent for firms and brokers with the know-how and wherewithal to seize them. That said, a panel including top industry...

Fears arise that a spigot will close.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Regulators are moving to prevent mutual funds from using 12(b)-1 fees to pay brokers and advisers that sell their funds. Advisers fear that such a move will make it harder for them to provide continuing advice to many...

Big custody firms beef up bond offerings; Some increase staffs; others unveil trading platforms.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Investment advisers are going to have better access to a variety of bonds in 2004. The leading firms providing services for registered investment advisers and custody of their clients' assets plan to increase or...

Conference Call: No end to tricks used to sidestep late-trading rules.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard A Securities and Exchange Commission official has revealed yet another method that may have been used to thwart 4 p.m. mutual fund closing times. "The error correction process has, we believe, in some cases... ...

2004 the year of the dividend-paying company? Tax cut should net investors $13.6B.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin The stocks of dividend-paying companies should receive a boost this year come tax time, when the impact of the Bush administration's dividend tax rate cut generates an estimated $13.6 billion windfall for investors....

Bank merger poses threat in separates; J.P. Morgan execs likely to head investment unit.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Financial advisers see plenty that interests them in the $58 billion merger between J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York and Bank One Corp. in Chicago, but they don't expect it to affect their business directly. A...

Reverse Spin: E-mail makes it even messier for MFS.(Briefs)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Memo to Jeffrey L. Shames and Martin E. Beaulieu of MFS Investment Management: Read your e-mail. Soon after the scandal involving market timing and late trading broke, Mr. Shames, the Boston-based...

5-day redemption fees give advisers flexibility; Brief moratorium period seen as sufficient to discourage traders.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Redemption fees are gaining popularity among mutual fund companies as a way to fight market timers and shore up the industry's tattered image, but some of the new fees have an interesting twist. The trustees of...

Monday Morning: Reporting the news, not our opinions.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jim Pavia InvestmentNews is a business newspaper serving financial advisers, planners and broker-dealers. The goal of the editorial team is to develop and deliver timely news stories that affect these sectors of the financial...

Schwab employing snob appeal in ads courting affluent investors; Firm wants bigger piece of 401(k) pie.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall Charles Schwab Corp. wants to let the world know that it has conquered mackerel and is going after tuna. The San Francisco-based broker has launched a new advertising campaign that it hopes will have the kind of...

Taking Sides: Investors deserve disclosure in plain English, in plain sight.(Opinion)
January 19, 2004... Disclosure is a powerful word. It can be a shield that protects individuals from biased investment advice from brokers or advisers, preserving trust between clients and the mutual fund companies, brokers and advisers. It can also...

Advisers cite redundancy in SEC code-of-ethics proposal.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard A proposal to require all federally registered investment advisers to adopt codes of ethics may be redundant with regulations and codes that are already in place, advisers said after the Securities and Exchange...

Keep clients focused on long-term goals.(Opinion)
January 19, 2004... Possibly the most important observation during the round-table discussion featured in this issue was made by Eric Schwartz, president and chief executive of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. in Fairfield, Iowa. He noted that advisers who had...

Latest regulatory target: Class B share sales abuse; NASD examining 50 cases of potential violations.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. As regulators set their sights on preventing abusive mutual fund sales practices, the compensation structure linked to how financial advisers are paid for selling so-called B shares may be in for an...

Tax Watch: IRS aims to put teeth in crackdown efforts.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Mark Battersby The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it is cracking down on misconduct by corporate lawyers and accountants, speeding up audits of corporate tax returns and targeting fraud in the earned-income-tax-credit...

Top indy broker-dealers post a modest gain; Many see little benefit from stocks' surge.(Broker-Dealers)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly The leading independent-broker-dealer firms participating in this year's InvestmentNews survey eked out, in aggregate, a modest gain in gross revenue compared with last year's. That tally includes a range of...

One on One: "There is a synchronized global economic expansion under way throughout the world".(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller What Thomas F. Sassi relishes about managing money is that there is nothing subjective about how he is doing. "At the end of the year, you can look at the results and say, `It's good, it's bad, or it's...

Short Interests: Alger takes slow boat to China with new fund.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin, Sara Hansard and David Hoffman New York-based money management firm Fred Alger Management Inc. is turning its attention to China with its first non-U.S. mutual fund product. While it could be argued that the...

Libor ARM favored among advisers touting home-mortgage benefits; Interest-only option frees up cash early on.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin The home mortgage is emerging as the "no-brainer'' of choice among financial advisers looking to secure deeper relationships with their clients. One particular interest-only version, known as the Libor ARM...

Winds of change sweep out FPA chief; No. 1 aide Tuttle promoted to top job.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller After 13 years on the job, Janet McCallen, the Financial Planning Association's executive director and chief executive, was told by the board - and subsequently agreed - that it was time for a change at the top. ...

At the Bell.(Late News)
January 19, 2004... SIA finds investors still rely on advisers * Investors are continuing the trend of increasingly turning to financial advisers for investment advice, the Securities Industry Association said Friday. Frank Fernandez, chief economist with...

Re-balancing portfolios may pose more problems; Advisers say the process has always been difficult.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard As mutual fund companies revisit their trading policies, advisers may have more trouble re-balancing client portfolios this year. Indeed, some advisers say they commonly experienced problems performing portfolio...

Reserve tries to tempt RIAs with an unusual equity fund strategy; Economic feasibility a subject of debate.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman The Reserve Funds in New York is moving on an unusual equity fund acquisition strategy that it feels is ripe for the times, but some industry experts aren't so sure it will work. The strategy calls for Reserve to...

Break-point letters flood investors; Some fear a backlash against brokers.(News)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Rick Miller With scores of investors receiving letters informing them they may have been overcharged for their mutual funds, some financial advisers worry about the effect those letters will have on the reputation of their...

Street Wise: Closing in on closed-end funds to defy rising rates.(The Markets)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin If you think, as many people do, that interest rates have nowhere to go but up, one option for income-oriented investors might be to focus on closed-end mutual funds that invest in diversified pools of fixed-income...

Profile notes.(Broker-Dealers)
January 19, 2004... Number of registered reps = those with gross production in excess of $100,000 The payout grid reflects ratios for the following production ranges; some have been rounded: a: $0 to $249,999 b: $250,000 to $499,999 c: $500,000...

InvestmentNews directory of independent broker-dealers.(Broker-Dealers)
January 19, 2004... Chosing a broker-dealer is one of the biggest decisions facing independent investment advisers. A host of factors come into play, from back-office support to payout ratios. The following profiles, listed in alphabetical order, provide...

Additional profiles.(Broker-Dealers)
January 19, 2004... The following profiles, listed in alphabetical order, are of companies that provided incomplete data. H.D. Vest Investment Services*** 6333 N. State Highway 161 Fourth Floor Irving, TX 75038 (800) 821-8254 hdvest.com...

Will Fidelity scuttle its flagship's skipper? With Magellan not gellin', there's no tellin'.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall Boston may be cold in January, but Fidelity Magellan Fund manager Robert Stansky is in the hot seat. The $68 billion fund - the biggest actively managed equity mutual fund in the country - is fast earning a...

One on One: "Our market share went from under 5% when we first launched ... to approaching 40%".(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall With the title of chief executive of intermediary and exchange traded funds for Barclays Global Investors, Lee T. Kranefuss holds one of the more enviable positions in the mutual fund industry. Net inflows into his...

Active growth funds trumped indexes; Report renews debate over which is better.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Most market experts think that over the long term, index returns trump the returns generated by a majority of actively managed funds. But a new report from Standard & Poor's in New York has renewed a debate as to...

Mass exodus at Edward Jones; Rep flight may signal changing culture.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Bruce Kelly Unprecedented growth at Edward Jones over the past decade has accelerated a shift in culture that pushed as many as 1,300 brokers out the door during the first eight months of 2003, according to brokers who recently...

LSAs absent from State of Union; present in upcoming 2005 budget; Life insurance industry expects proposal's contribution limit to be lower.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Expect the Bush administration's budget for fiscal 2005 to include the retirement savings proposals that failed to stir Congress last year. Although President Bush did not mention lifetime savings accounts,...

A desire for investment knowledge.(Opinion)
January 26, 2004... The ninth Annual SIA Investor Survey mentioned above suggests an opportunity for financial planners and advisers. According to the survey, 53% of the respondents said they knew only some of the components necessary to make good investment...

Taking Sides: We need to put clients first.(Opinion)
January 26, 2004... Investors' satisfaction with their brokers and/or financial advisers began to recover last year, according to a survey conducted for the Securities Industry Association. That finding, part of the ninth Annual SIA Investor Survey, was...

Short Interests: Investment managers look for `fix-it' executives.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard, Brooke Southall and Rick Miller As the equity markets rebound, 2004 will have a significantly altered investment management landscape, according to a report on recruitment trends released by Russell Reynolds Associates...

Fund boards beef up; Improving oversight may cost investors.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. The mutual fund trading scandal is setting the stage for a period of unprecedented change among boards responsible for overseeing many of the nation's roughly 6,000 mutual funds. With regulators...

Firm puts its mouth where MONY is; Third Avenue tells fellow shareholders why it opposes deal.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard For what it terms "a nominal cost,'' a New York mutual fund company has written to inform other shareholders in The MONY Group Inc. that is voting against the New York insurer's proposed sale because the price tag is...

Brokers welcome sunshine; Some say SEC rules would help their biz.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Sara Hansard Some brokers have welcomed the increased disclosure the Securities and Exchange Commission would require they make when they sell mutual funds. Indeed, some brokers and industry legal experts think far-reaching...

Memo to hedge funds: Future may be in stars; Morningstar cranking up a database.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Morningstar Inc. has set its sights on the hedge fund industry as the next stage of its evolution and expansion throughout the financial services industry. The Chicago-based company, which built its reputation as...

Street Wise: Money manager says all signs point east in Europe.(The Markets)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Jeff Benjamin With the domestic-equity markets steadily charging along, it might be easy to ignore the opportunity for international diversification. But for a host of reasons, certain European emerging markets make more sense than...

Reverse Spin: Happy days for J.P Morgan, Merrill.(Briefs)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. and Rick Miller It looks like Wall Street has a new theme song: "Happy Days Are Here Again.'' Thanks to a surge in investment banking business, a strong stock market and weak interest rates, New...

At Issue: Dividend surprise could hit mutual fund investors.(Opinion)
January 26, 2004... In Brooke Southall's article "A nasty surprise on dividends'' [Jan. 5-12], a number of professionals note the income tax rate problem that payments in lieu of dividends present. This problem is actually broader than most professionals...

At the Bell.(Late News)
January 26, 2004... Adviser on the lam arrested in Houston * A fugitive financial adviser accused of bilking investors of as much as $814 million was nabbed in Houston on Thursday after using his own credit card and demanding the AARP discount. James P....

Other Views: The year investors' eyes were finally opened; "Every day brings new revelations that the game has been rigged.''.(Opinion)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Edward Siedle In 2003, the nation's 95 million mutual fund investors - as well as pension plan sponsors and other consumers of money management services - began learning of the pervasiveness of illegal and unethical behavior in the...

Datebook.(Calendar/Datebook)
January 26, 2004... JANUARY 28-30 - Family Office Management: Choosing, Integrating and Implementing the Most Efficient Solutions for Your Family Office, Institute for International Research. Crowne Plaza Oceanfront, North Palm Beach, Fla. (888)670-8200 or...

Latin American stocks still tempting; But top performers require risk tolerance.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: David Hoffman Latin American stocks should do well this year, but don't expect them to perform quite as impressively as they did last year, according to managers of emerging-markets mutual funds. The MSCI EMF Latin American...

Eyeing TIPS? Watch out for icebergs; Some urge caution in wake of Gross' move.(News)
January 26, 2004... Byline: Brooke Southall The world's best-known bond manager is making bold moves into Treasury inflation-protected securities. But a new research report from New York-based Morgan Stanley says that investors should be aware of the downside...