Practice

Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co. of Boston wants to expand sales of its 401(k) and other defined contribution products through financial advisors with new enrollment materials designed to be more attractive and comprehensible than the materials they replace.

The Domini Social Equity Fund reached the $1 billion in assets under management landmark, thanks largely to retirement plan growth. Thirty percent of the fund's net inflows have come through retirement plans over the past year, according to officials at Domini Social Investments of New York.

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates didn't have to air any of its dirty laundry last week in Massachusetts Superior Court.

Scudder Defined Contribution Services, a division of Scudder Kemper Investments of Boston, has linked up with Financial Engines, an Internet-based advisory firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., to deliver advice to retirement plan participants.

The mutual fund industry is now mulling the implications of the recent courtroom encounter between money manager Louis Navellier, of Navellier Investment Management of Reno, Nev., and three independent fund trustees.

Mutual fund attorneys are reviewing the risk disclosures in key SEC filings for the funds they advise because of what appears to be a unique case making its way through federal court in Nashville, Tenn.

It is unfortunate that the July 15 hearing in the case of Philip Goldstein v. Scudder New Europe Fund (MFMN, 7/26/99 ) remained mired in legal interpretations instead of delving into the real issue at hand. The presiding judge and attorneys focused on interpretations of SEC no-action letters. They never got into a debate on the pros and cons of imposing redemption fees on closed-end funds when they open. Industry observers argue both ways, and it is a debate worth having.

The Investment Company Institute of Washington, D.C., has suggested changes in an SEC rule proposal governing how mutual funds oversee their securities held in foreign countries. The ICI said it was troubled by language in the proposed amendment to rule 17f-5 of the Investment Company Act and a proposed new rule 17f-7. Together, the rule proposals, which require a fund's global custodian to monitor the risk of using sub-custodians in foreign countries under certain circumstances, could effectively prohibit funds from investing in some countries, the ICI said. The SEC should adopt language in the rule making it clear that funds could use a foreign sub-custodian, despite risks associated with the firm, the ICI said in a letter dated July 15 to the SEC.

NEW YORK - Scudder Kemper Investments of New York successfully thwarted an attempt by arbitrageur Phillip Goldstein to stop a shareholder vote that combined the issues of whether to open a fund and impose a redemption fee on those cashing out of the newly-opened fund.

The U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction with the Investment Company Institute and other trade groups is urging employers to use a new form that requires 401(k) providers to make detailed disclosures about their fees.