Practice

Let's be realistic about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a man many in the mutual fund industry detest for launching the timing and late-trading investigations.

Let's be realistic about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a man many in the mutual fund industry detest for launching the timing and late-trading investigations.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case seeking to eliminate a state's right to issue tax-free municipal bonds for paper concerning its own state, but to tax out-of-state municipal bonds.

The digital age continues to make inroads at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the SEC said on Nov. 2 it is considering a plan to permit fund managers to file applications for exemptive relief, or variances from agency procedures, over the Internet. The industry has through Dec. 14 to comment on the proposal.

After more than a decade of fits and starts for prospectus profiles, it appears that both the mutual fund industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission are finally comfortable with the idea.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.

A new marketing idea we've been hearing at recent conferences for the mutual fund industry is the notion of embracing new technologies, including blogging, instant messaging, chat rooms, webcasts, podcasts, websites tailored for each individual investor and even creating communities along the lines of facebook.com and YouTube.com.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Oppenheimer & Co. $1 million for intentionally submitting inaccurate mutual fund breakpoint data and for failing to properly supervise its brokers.

A new marketing idea we've been hearing at recent conferences for the mutual fund industry is the notion of embracing new technologies, including blogging, instant messaging, chat rooms, webcasts, podcasts, websites tailored for each individual investor and even creating communities along the lines of facebook.com and YouTube.com.