Practice

It's been four years since Noreen Harrington has appeared on the scene, but she recently spoke before an industry group on why she blew the whistle on the market timing and late trading at Canary Capital, setting off the shocking scandal that rocked the fund industry, cost it $5 billion in fines and nearly tarnished its reputation forever.

The Department of Labor has decided not to include stable-value funds as one of its recommended default options for 401(k) plans under the Pension Protection Act. Instead, the DOL is advocating balanced funds, lifecycle funds and a professionally managed, diversified portfolio as the default choices.

WASHINGTON-The Securities and Exchange Commission is interested in reducing mutual fund operational risk, improving disclosure and helping boards better assess soft dollars, according to Andrew J. Donohue, director of the division of investment management.

It's been four years since Noreen Harrington has appeared on the scene, but she recently spoke before an industry group on why she blew the whistle on the market timing and late trading at Canary Capital, setting off the shocking scandal that rocked the fund industry, cost it $5 billion in fines and nearly tarnished its reputation forever.

Hedge funds in Europe have just proposed that they self-police, in an attempt to ward off regulation. They are offering to volunteer information about their holdings, risk management, governance and valuation techniques.

When Charles Schwab and Ariel Mutual Funds conducted their first annual Black Investor Survey at the premier Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Summit a decade ago, 57% of Blacks said they owned stocks or mutual funds. Today, that number remains the same. However, in 2002, it peaked at 74%, while in the past 10 years, the number of Whites who own stocks or mutual funds has hovered around 80%.

Like death and taxes for the rest of us, Securities and Exchange Commission oversight will always be a concern for the mutual fund industry.

While most 401(k) investors hardly give a thought to employer matches-and even employers usually don't promote them heavily to employees-an innovative investment solution from Barclays Global Investors of San Francisco specifically designed for company matches might finally generate some interest in this neglected company perk.

Hedge funds in Europe have just proposed that they self-police, in an attempt to ward off regulation. They are offering to volunteer information about their holdings, risk management, governance and valuation techniques.

As the 77 million Baby Boomers begin to retire, the market for helping them manage their retirement income will begin to boom as well. Millions of retirees will be looking for financial advice and will likely turn to their local banks first, retirement experts say.