Portfolio

Pointing to illiquidity and poor fair valuation conditions, two ranking Congressmen have asked Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox to cut mutual fund portfolio managers a break on redemptions of auction-rate securities.

Absolute-return mutual funds that seek to provide investors with positive returns whether equity markets are rising or falling, are growing in rapid numbers in today's volatile market and hoping to attract a loyal investor following.

Saudi Arabia has launched its first sovereign-wealth fund, aimed at maximizing long-term rates of return.

Rydex Investments has launched a fund of funds that offers exposure to the alternatives marketplace.

John Hancock Funds has elected interim board chairman James Carlin as independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Carlin has been a trustee since 1992.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a settlement enforcement action against Bank of America’s Banc of America Investment Services Inc. for failure to disclose it favored two mutual funds.

We are proud to announce this year's Money Management Executive's 6th Annual Fund Operations Awards program. The awards, for Leadership, Innovation, New Media and Innovations/Efficiencies, will be presented in person in September, in Boston. Deadline for entries is July 18, 2008. Detailed entry forms will be available on the newsweekly's home page. We look forward to hearing from entrants as well as those interested in serving on the judging panel. For more information: elizabeth.barney@sourcemedia.com. -- Thank you, Lee Barney, Editor.

While flows to money market mutual funds increased at an alarming rate in the first quarter of the year (see MME “Money Funds Seeing Huge Inflows, Opportunities,” this week’s issue), assets fell by $34.53 billion in the week ended Tuesday, according to data from iMoneyNet’s Money Fund Report.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s National Adjudicatory Council yesterday upheld FINRA’s 2006 decision to fine American Funds Distributors $5 million for directing traders—worth $98 million in brokerage commissions—between 2001-2003 to 46 broker/dealers that sold its family of 29 mutual funds.

The Hartford suffered a serious 83% drop in net income due, the firm announced yesterday, to poor investments.