Investment News articles from September 2006

Investment News archives from September 2006

A well-done retirement assessment is rare.(Editorial)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Jim Pavia I have to offer praise to all those financial advisers and planners out there who each day deal with people like two of my friends, Danny and Tim. These two men are both in their late 40s, have good jobs and have...

For Ohio investment firm, a rewarding reunion; Assets soar as boss' former colleagues join him at Ancora.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Shawn A. Turner So far, getting the guys back together has turned out to be a pretty good idea for Ancora Advisors LLC in Beachwood, Ohio. Its assets under management have grown to $850 million, from $150 million, during the...

The role of real estate investments for baby boomer clients.(Other Views)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Jason Mattox The generation of Americans now between 41 and 60, collectively known as the baby boomers, made up about 30% of the U.S. population in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They are expected to receive a $10...

People.
September 4, 2006... Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America in Minneapolis has named Robert DeChellis, 39, senior vice president of distribution and strategic accounts. He will direct the company's strategic account management sector, and handle...

Ameristock files for five fixed-income ETFs; If approved, more than doubles size of universe to 11.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: David Hoffman The tiny universe of fixed-income exchange traded funds is poised to expand. Ameristock Corp. of Alameda, Calif., last month filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch five fixed-income...

Mass. charges three brokers with fraud; Firms failed to supervise reps, complaints say.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin last month charged three registered representatives with fraud and also alleged that the broker-dealers with which those reps were affiliated failed to supervise them...

Some firms drop CSA designation; Regulatory worries, marketing emphasis cited as reasons.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Charles Paikert Citing regulatory concerns and questionable educational substance, one of the most popular "senior specialist'' certifications used in the financial services industry has been banned by a growing number of firms....

Rise in corporate profits' GDP share a positive.(Editorial)
September 4, 2006... Corporate profits now account for one of the largest shares of gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947. That means, of course, that wages and salaries account for one of the smallest shares of GDP -...

Lord Abbett adds to retirement menu.(Product Watch)
September 4, 2006... Lord Abbett & Co. LLC of Jersey City, N.J., has launched the Lord Abbett Diversified Equity Strategy Fund, which is aimed at the retirement market. Rather than using a target date like other life cycle funds, Lord Abbett's...

Investment banks enter mortgage market; Risky deals seen as a way to lock up loan supply.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Aaron Elstein The housing market is a mess. Recent statistics show that sales of new homes nationwide dived 22% in July from year-earlier levels, and applications for new home loans plummeted 25%. Meanwhile, in many parts of...

SEC shouldn't bring charges lightly.(Editorial)
September 4, 2006... Where do Glenn Wilkinson and Bert Miller go to have their good names restored? The reputations of these financial advisers were severely damaged when the Securities and Exchange Commission charged them with fraud for selling mutual fund B...

Spotlight on advisers.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Financial advisers and planners spend their days helping clients manage their money for both the short and long term. They help them decide which stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other financial products to invest in. As a result, theirs is...

Business seen cooling for securities firms; Slowing economy puts damper on roaring '06 start.(Broker-Dealers)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Dan Jamieson After a roaring start to the year, the business environment for securities firms has cooled. The effects of slower economic growth already are affecting U.S. securities firms, according to a report issued late last...

Variable annuity product investors still bullish on international funds.(The Markets)
September 4, 2006... Of the $3.8 billion of equity fund net inflows in July, $1.8 billion was injected by variable annuity product investors. Driven by the performance figures presented above - and caution - investors continued to shun many of the...

Consumers' attitudes top gauge of financial comfort; Study: Best predictor is ability to live within one's means.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Aaron Siegel When planning for retirement, consumers are the best judges, or so they think. According to a new study of Americans 55 to 70 by Diversified Services Group Inc., a Wayne, Pa.-based financial research firm,...

Banks losing clout in U.S. trust business; Personal-trust assets down 10% from '99 peak, Spectrem report says.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Brooke Southall Banks continue to lose their grip on the personal-trust business. Personal-trust assets held by U.S. banks totaled $986 billion at the end of 2005, a nearly 10% drop from their peak of $1.1 trillion in 1999,...

'Frustrated small-cap manager' bemoans style limits.(Street Wise)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Jeff Benjamin As a portfolio manager investing exclusively in midsize companies, Ryan Crane has adopted the unusual title of "frustrated small-cap manager.'' It is the cross a mid-cap manager often must bear, according to Mr....

Advisers put seagoing clients in cruise control.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Gary S. Mogel Vacationers want more than shuffleboard and an Elvis impersonator on their dream cruise, and they often depend on their financial adviser to help them get it. "Awesome service, great attention to detail and...

Opinion poll.(Opinion)
September 4, 2006... In last week's poll, 1,001 readers responded, with 81% saying they wouldn't be willing to invest in a hedge fund that would produce projects for actor Tom Cruise. This week's question is: Should state and/or federal regulators set...

Wirehouses struggle to gain new assets; Net new money at biggest firms called too low.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Dan Jamieson Wirehouse reps are struggling to gain new assets. Over the past two and a half years, reps at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and UBS Financial Services Inc., both of New York, have brought in an average of about $600,000...

Banks become hot target for insurers' annuity sales; VAs outpacing fixed annuities in branch sales.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Gary S. Mogel Life insurers are adopting a "no annuity gets left behind'' strategy in selling through bank branches, according to industry marketing executives. Not only are insurers getting their foot in the door at additional...

Former luminaries are causing consternation among investors; Lackluster returns by Miller, Nygren, Muhlenkamp lead to July outflows.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: David Hoffman Investors are losing patience with some well-known mutual fund managers, and they are voting with their feet. Judging by the anonymous rants and raves appearing on Internet message boards, three managers...

401(k) market changes seen as a good sign for financial advisers; New pension law clears up some confusion.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Lisa Shidler Account balances for long-term 401(k) plan participants have hit six figures, and financial advisers are now eager to start selling the plans to small businesses. It isn't that simple, however. The 401(k)...

Friday is '401(k) Day'.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Lisa Shidler Most Americans are focused on Labor Day this week, but some in the financial services industry are trying to spotlight 401(k) Day on Friday. The Sept. 8 holiday marks the 11th annual celebration focusing on 401(k)...

With Michael Miola of Northstar Financial Services Group LLC.(One on One)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Michael Miola has built a career and several businesses by concentrating in areas that help financial intermediaries operate more-efficient and profitable advisory firms. As co-founder and co-chairman of Northstar...

Top 50 Broker-Dealers; North American wirehouses and regionals ranked by retail reps.(News)
September 4, 2006... (From page 1) After a strong start to the year, the business environment for securities firms has cooled off, according to industry observers. What's more, results for the second half are expected to be significantly weaker than those for...

BlackRock deciding on Merrill's bond teams; Likely to retain more MLIM pros than predicted.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Mark Bruno BlackRock Inc. will retain more Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Ltd. fixed-income professionals than insiders predicted when the firms complete their merger at the end of this quarter, according to sources. ...

Hedge fund rule's fallout seen likely to persist; Experts see good reasons to stay registered.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Aaron Siegel The Securities and Exchange Commission's short-lived attempt to regulate the hedge fund industry will continue to have an effect down the road, according to a report released last month by Greenwich (Conn.) Associates....

New way for individuals to invest in hurricane risk; Online platform's minimum investment is below $100.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Gary S. Mogel Weather-related investing, now dominated by hedge funds, has been made available to the masses. HedgeStreet Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., announced in August the opening of its online retail market for trading...

How to collect on disability insurance claims.(Practice Management)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Rhonda D. Orin Many financial planners recognize that disability insurance is an essential component to financial prudence and advise their clients accordingly. Indeed, clients are more likely to need disability insurance than...

Pension law helps non-spouse IRA beneficiaries; They can now defer taxes on proceeds from the accounts.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Sara Hansard All beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts can now defer taxes on proceeds from the accounts under the Pension Protection Act, which was signed by President Bush last month. The deferment provision is...

Alternative-energy funds have investors seeing green; Niche funds not for short-term investors, observers say.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Riva Froymovich With oil trading near $70 a barrel, funds that invest in alternative-energy companies are the subject of renewed focus among investors hoping to marry profit and principle. Unfortunately, such marriages tend to...

Schwab unveils eight mutual fund wrap products; Firm takes aim at the profit margins earned by Wall Street brokers.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Brooke Southall Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. has introduced an advice product that takes aim at some of the fattest profit margins earned by stockbrokers on Wall Street. The San Francisco-based brokerage firm has released eight...

Bigger is better right now, Eaton Vance says; Lists reasons why large-cap growth will rule the roost.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Kathie O'Donnell Large-cap-growth stocks such as Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. offer investors "tremendous opportunities,'' according to Lewis Piantedosi, co-manager of the nearly $19 billion Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Growth...

Canadian SRO warns exchange to watch its step; Issues 'reminder' after comment period on restrictions ended.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: David Clarke The Investment Dealers Association of Canada, which has quasi-regulatory powers over its members, has fired a warning shot across the bow of the good ship CNQ, an upstart exchange owned by Toronto-based Canadian...

Regardless of their size, defense contractors thrive.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Aaron Siegel As global concerns increase over events in the Middle East and as the nuclear aspirations of Iran and North Korea heighten, defense contractors large and small are reaping the benefits, according to a new report by...

NASD lets American Funds off easy.(Reverse Spin)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Charles Paikert American Funds caught a break last week when NASD disregarded its enforcement staff's request that the firm be fined as much as $98 million for violating a directed-brokerage rule and fined it just $5 million. ...

Calendar: September.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
September 4, 2006... September 6-8 - Advanced Pension Conference, SunGard Corbel Inc. Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel, Chicago. relius.net or webconfquest@relius.net. 11-12 - Fifth annual Managed Account Summit, Financial Research Associates LLC. Pointe South...

NEXT hires vet from Pioneer as recruitment head.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly NEXT Financial Holding, the parent of NEXT Financial Group Inc. of Houston, has found a new head of recruiting. Barry Knight, an industry veteran who served most recently as director of sales development with...

SEC likely to revise fund governance rule; Cox seeks consensus among members.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Sara Hansard Even the strongest supporters of the rule that would require mutual fund boards to have independent chairmen don't believe that the Securities and Exchange Commission will reissue the overturned regulation as it...

Royal Alliance getting better New York digs.(Short Interests)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly Royal Alliance Associates Inc. is moving its offices and operations from midtown to downtown Manhattan, near the site of the World Trade Center at One World Financial Center. The independent-contractor...

Ready for his close-up: Adviser to star on PBS show; Bert Whitehead will sing praises of fee-only advice on one-hour program.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Jeff Benjamin The latest salvo in the continuing battle to distinguish financial advisers and fiduciary responsibility from commission-based stockbrokers will tap public television to take the message directly to consumers. In...

Vanguard creating 4,000 plans a month; Number soars from 15,000 for all of 2005.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Kathie O'Donnell The Vanguard Group Inc. said it is churning out about 4,000 online financial plans a month - up from about 15,000 plans for all of 2005 - and at least one industry observer says that should be "a wake-up call'' for...

Crowell to buy rival's retail business.(At the Bell)
September 4, 2006... Crowell Weedon & Co. Inc. of Los Angeles has reached a preliminary agreement to buy the retail securities business of a local competitor, Seidler Cos. Inc. Seidler has 40 representatives in five Southern California offices and a sixth...

Brokers favor CEOs with law background; Many top indies turn attention to those with regulatory, compliance knowledge.(News)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly If your ambition is to run a broker-dealer, it might be better to be a lawyer or - heaven forbid - an ex-securities regulator than an old-fashioned retail stockbroker or wholesaler. A handful of leading...

Jackson National extends alliance with Wachovia.(Product Watch)
September 11, 2006... Extending its partnership with Richmond, Va.-based Wachovia Securities LLC, Jackson National Life Insurance Co. of Lansing, Mich., now will make its variable and fixed index annuity products available to approved financial advisers in...

China joint venture may open door to larger stakes; Lord Abbett has biggest piece of asset manager.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Mark Bruno Lord Abbett & Co. LLC's fund management joint venture in China could show that financial regulators there are becoming more comfortable with foreign firms' playing a critical role in the country's asset management...

Barrow ready to pass the torch to new leaders; To relinquish reins to younger managers in four years.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Cecily O'Connor James Barrow, the sole member of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss Inc.'s founding quartet still at the Dallas-based firm, will relinquish the role of lead portfolio manager in four years. "Giving up client and...

Advisers spread their word through podcasting; New technology offers link to younger investors, some say.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Liz Skinner Although many clients have yet to buy their first iPod, more financial advisers are turning to podcasting as a way to communicate with current clients and attract new ones. Allowing investors to download Internet...

With Mike Scarborough of The Scarborough Group Inc.(One on One)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Lisa Shidler Years ago, Mike Scarborough realized that most investors are clueless when it comes to managing their 401(k) plans, and he began doing it for them. "He was a pioneer in the 401(k) advice sector,'' said Todd...

Loaded response: 8K or AK-47?(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Emily Newman A word of caution to investors: Be careful how you phrase your inquiries to Seattle-based Expeditors International of Washington Inc.; you might generate a strongly worded response in a very public forum. In an 8-K...

New kid on block to rival Morningstar; Style boxes may soon be out of style.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Morningstar Inc., which popularized the use of style boxes to help advisers build diversified portfolios of mutual funds, soon could face serious competition from an out-of-the-box thinker. Next year, one-year-old...

The Pension Protection Act's effect on advisers.(Fiduciary Corner)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Donald B. Trone The Pension Protection Act of 2006 affects nearly every person associated with the retirement industry. Of particular importance to investment advisers is Title VI of the act, which deals with investment advice...

Help for alternatives firms.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Barry B. Burr Fiderion Group of Atlanta has established Fiderion Portfolio Services Group, a specialty division to help private-equity funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds find new portfolio deals, while providing executive...

Montana accuses former UBS rep of fraud; Alleged scam continued during bid for gubernatorial nod.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Dan Jamieson A former broker in the Billings, Mont., office of UBS Financial Services Inc. was scamming clients while also staging a campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, according to a complaint filed last month by...

September-December.(Calendar/Datebook)
September 11, 2006... September 12 - Adviser to Adviser: Retirement and Its Impact on the Financial Advisory Industry, live InvestmentNews webcast, 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Eastern time. investmentnews.com/adviserwebcast. 12 - CFA Level I Weekly Review: Session...

Job changes.(People)
September 11, 2006... The CFA Institute of Charlottesville, Va., has elected Todd Parker Lowe, 46, chairman of its Presidents Council. A chartered financial analyst, he will be responsible for setting the agenda of the council and its representatives. Mr. Lowe will...

Term life and VAs top advisers' Rx list; HSAs, LTC tough sells, survey shows.(Special Report: Insurance Products in Financial Pl)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Gary S. Mogel The vast majority of financial advisers recommend term life insurance instead of whole life to clients, and those who recommend annuities prefer variable over fixed. Those were among the findings of the second...

TIAA-CREF fund adviser admits $2 million error; Will reimburse those who lost more than $10.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Kathie O'Donnell Teachers Advisors Inc., the adviser to TIAA-CREF Institutional International Equity Fund, said it discovered an error that cost the fund's retirement-class shareholders an estimated $2 million over three years, and...

New federal law makes it easier to fund IRAs; Advisers bullish on benefits of provision slated to go into effect in January.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Lisa Shidler A new federal law opens the door for financial advisers to encourage clients to save more money for retirement. A little-known provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which President Bush signed into law...

Private equity: 'Key role' or a ripoff?(Reverse Spin)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Charles Paikert The great private-equity debate heated up last week. On one side was Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein, who ripped Wall Street's hottest trend as a "giant, circular Ponzi scheme.'' Meanwhile, David...

CFA advocate calls for scrutiny of restricted stock shares; Use of stock options is falling from favor, Schacht notes.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Sara Hansard Restricted shares of stock, which are replacing stock options as a tool for compensating executives, need greater regulatory scrutiny, an investor advocate told the Senate Banking Committee last week. Although the...

Battle over best indexing strategy rages.(Monday morning)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Mike Clowes Editor at large Many financial planners use index funds for at least part of their clients' investment portfolios because the funds give clients diversified exposure to the broad market, or a particular segment, at low...

Securities America hires recruiting chief.(Short Interests)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly Another leading independent-contractor broker-dealer has found a new head of recruiting. Securities America Inc. of Omaha, Neb., last week said it had hired Gregg H. Johnson, the firm's new vice president of...

New book offers ideas on saving for retirement; Authors say changes would benefit financial advisers.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Lisa Shidler In a newly published book, three Brookings Institution scholars are proposing a number of legislative changes that they contend would make it easier for Americans to save for retirement. The book, "Aging...

Value Trust's Miller is no pushover on proxies; Manager voted against management 31 times in one year, filing shows.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Kathie O'Donnell Bill Miller's Legg Mason Value Trust Inc. voted against corporate management 31 times in the one-year period ended June 30, including proxy votes related to executive pay at Cisco Systems Inc. and IBM Corp., a...

Planner loses bid to become CFO of Florida.(Short Interests)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Riva Froymovich A financial planner and insurance agent last week lost his bid to win the Republican primary election for chief financial officer of the state of Florida. Milt Bauguess, owner of Republic Asset Management Corp....

New NASD chief faces 'hostile' environment; Schapiro reaches out, but trust has been lost, observers say.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Dan Jamieson Mary Schapiro has a fight on her hands. Ms. Schapiro, who this month became chairman and chief executive of NASD in Washington, is facing an uprising from broker-dealers who say they've had enough of what they...

ETFs that invest abroad surge in popularity; International, global-equity assets up 93%.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: David Hoffman Exchange traded funds that invest in overseas stocks are gaining in popularity, changing the way some financial advisers approach international investing. But even those who champion such ETFs warn that they have...

New fund uses ETF tactical asset allocation strategy.(Street Wise)(Company overview)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Jeff Benjamin Nine months after spinning off from Rydex Global Advisors Inc. in Rockville, Md., the three-person team that founded Arrow Investment Advisors LLC has rolled out a mutual fund that should be considered a sign of...

Markets mark Sept. 11 anniversary.(At the Bell)
September 11, 2006... Financial markets and institutions today mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The New York Stock Exchange will hold a moment of silence between 9:29 a.m. EDT and 9:30 a.m., after...

Widowed Texas CFP helps advise bereaved.(Short Interests)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Aaron Siegel An adviser has created a program to help grief-stricken widows in the Dallas-Fort Worth area wade through the minefields of financial planning. Joy D. Kirsch, a widow of 13 years and a certified financial planner,...

Agassi is sticking with Genworth.(Short Interests)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Aaron Siegel Andre Agassi's tennis career may have ended at the United States Open this month, but his association with Genworth Financial Inc. will live on. With the Genworth Financial logo embroidered on his sleeve, the...

Pay incentives seen as asset managers' weak link; Equity ownership rated a good way to motivate staff.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Douglas Appell Motivating employees with some combination of equity ownership and long-term compensation is the key to boosting the profitability of asset management firms, according to a recent survey. In their 2005 Business...

Time for a DC plan makeover? Contribution levels, investment structures and payout options found lacking.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb Defined contribution plans need a total makeover if they're going to fulfill participants' retirement expectations. According to the latest paper by M. Barton Waring and Laurence Siegel, "Wake Up and Smell the...

DC plan execs seek fee data upgrade; RFPs demanding more information, updated frequently.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb Defined contribution plan executives want more information on fees, and they want it updated frequently. According to a survey published this summer by The Spectrem Group Inc. of Chicago, more than 60% of the...

Hedge funds accept long-only challenge; Offer own versions of strategy known as 'short extension'.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Vince Calio Hedge funds are striking back against traditional money managers with the creation of their own 120/20 or 130/30 portfolios. They are countering the long-only managers that offer these hedge-fund-like strategies as...

Popularity of ETFs booming outside the U.S. Assets up 30% in Europe over first half of '06.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Cecily O'Connor Exchange traded funds are spreading like wildfire overseas, sparking as much as 30% asset gains in some regions during the first half of 2006 as demand heats up for a bevy of new products. Europe is leading the...

Brokerages' focus on top producers not practical; Industry needs to train mid-tier brokers better, report says.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Riva Froymovich The brokerage industry's long-standing battle to compete for top-producing brokers is financially impractical, according to a report released last week by a consulting firm. Changing demographics, increased...

La. clients worried about insurance claims.(Short Interests)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Gary S. Mogel Last month's anniversary of Hurricane Katrina made clients in Louisiana wonder when their insurance claims will be paid, according to Randy Waesche, president of Resource Management Inc. in Metairie, La., a New...

This week's question.(Opinion poll)
September 11, 2006... In last week's poll, 658 readers responded, with 50.3% saying state and/or federal regulators shouldn't set standards governing organizations that issue professional designations intended to encourage investors' trust in designees. This...

New broker focuses on life settlements biz; Invescor launch coincides with NASD notice.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Bruce Kelly One group of advisers last month opened up its own specialty broker-dealer specifically to make sure trades of life settlements are handled properly. With NASD last month issuing a notice to members reminding...

Canadian companies need to manage risk better; They don't implement factors they consider critical, study finds.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: David Clarke Investing in Canadian companies appears to be risky. Seventy percent of respondents to an Ernst & Young LLP study released Aug. 29 said that their risk levels had risen over the previous two to three years, with...

Canadian regulators seek to quell retail-investor unrest; Outline progress made in addressing slew of complaints.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: David Clarke It has taken more than a year, but some regulators and self-regulatory organizations finally have responded to what they heard 16 months ago from outraged retail investors at a raucous town hall meeting. On Aug....