Industry

As the oldest bank in the United States, The Bank of New York has seen many changes over the past 220 years. But perhaps none as important as the regulatory changes being ushered into the financial services industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission within the last several months.

Proxy and shareholder communication firm Georgeson Shareholder Services has acquired shareholder mailing firm Alamo Direct Mail in a $15.5 million deal. Through the acquisition, Georgeson aims to boost its standing as a comprehensive service provider for the mutual fund industry by incorporating Alamo's Internet-based shareholder data-processing capabilities.

Global Investment Systems has broken with Extended Systems, its longstanding database provider, and is now using Oracle's database platform to power its latest shareholder accounting system, formally known as MFACT. Mary Pizzichino, U.S. director of sales and marketing at GIS, said Oracle's database offers the power and functionality required by larger institutional customers that is lacking in Extended Systems' database. "This new functionality allows us to attract and serve those users with the development of the Oracle functionality for MFACT." In addition, Oracle's database provides greater flexibility than Extended Systems for interfacing with a wide variety of server operating environments, like Microsoft's Windows applications, UNIX and Linux, Pizzichino said. GIS intends to continue Extended Technology in MFACT applications intended for smaller customers, according to a statement from the company.

A former leader in retirement plan recordkeeping and custodial services, personal trust services, and more recently custody services for registered investment advisers, Security Trust Co. fell prey to the SEC's microscope when it was charged in November with late-trading mutual fund abuses. The firm was the first to have criminal charges against then-CEO Grant Seeger and was the first to temporarily close its doors.

Oppenheimer Asset Management has added the Dividend Performers investment strategy to its separate account consulting program. The strategy is managed by Sovereign Asset Management, a subsidiary of John Hancock Advisers, recently bought by Manulife Financial. Dividend Performers invests in a group of approximately 350 companies known for growth and stability. All have increased dividends over the past five years and seek investments that point to future growth and earnings.

The bidding is over for the scandal-tarnished Strong Capital Management. Wells Fargo reached a definitive agreement last week to purchase Strong's $27 billion in mutual fund assets and $7 billion in institutional investment assets. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Wells reportedly will pay less than $500 million in a first payment and then up to $200 million in subsequent installments, depending on which direction Strong's assets under management go.

Asset management industry merger and acquisition activity picked up significantly in 2003, but the size and scope of the deals plummeted, in part, due to concerns arising from the scandal engulfing the fund industry, according to a recent study released by Putnam Lovell NBF Securities of New York.

Mellon Financial has agreed to purchase Safeco Trust Co. from Safeco Corp., and the deal is expected to be completed by the middle of next month.

EnvestnetPMC has put out an undisclosed bid to acquire Net Asset Management, another Web-based, turnkey provider of separately managed accounts, mutual funds and alternative investments to broker/dealers and independent registered investment advisers. The deal would create the largest independent platform for fee-based advisers in a segment that began consolidating about 18 months ago but has much further to go, an analyst said.

J.P. Morgan Chase said on Wednesday that it is purchasing Chicago-based Banc One Corp., not only creating a banking giant, but also spawning the fourth-largest fund firm, according to research firm Lipper of New York