Practice

Financial services giant Citigroup is being sued by an investor who claims that she was duped into putting her money into a pricier share class of mutual funds.

DUBLIN - The retailization of hedge funds seems to be gaining momentum overseas, and international regulators are taking a cautious approach to the growing demand. But investment professionals in the U.S. are expressing little concern for, and no interest in, providing this product to the average investors.

Mutual fund investors may get a better understanding of fund costs and greater insight into the relationships and possible conflicts of interests of fund management.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers appeared skeptical of the need to bring hedge fund products to retail investors as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson presented the agency's findings from its hedge fund roundtable.

WASHINGTON - Paul Roye, the Securities and Exchange Commission's director of the division of investment management, issued a wakeup call for the mutual fund industry, telling attendees that the industry's place in the market is not assured, during remarks at the Investment Company Institute's annual convention here.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson announced last week that the comment period from the hedge fund roundtable will remain open until July 7, 2003. The public can submit materials to be included in the public record by sending them electronically to hedgefunds@sec.gov or submitting them in hard copy to Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549-0609. All submissions should refer to File No. 4-476.

BERMUDA - As if raising assets in foreign markets isn't already hard enough, there are increasing regulations to contend with, as well.

WASHINGTON - Maintaining more realistic expectations about mutual fund returns will be a critical step toward rejuvenating investor confidence.

WASHINGTON - Hedge fund representatives at the recent Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable on hedge funds adamantly denied the need for increased oversight of their industry. Others at the meeting lobbied for regulators to ease current restrictions on mutual funds so that they could act more like hedge funds.

Barclays Global Investors is blazing the trail for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) business as federal regulators have lifted key investment restrictions on its iShares product.