Money Management Executive Latest News

The Jones v. Harris Associates fund fee case pending before the Supreme Court could very well be found in favor of investors, and if so, that could have tremendous ramifications for the 53 million American households that own mutual funds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The wealthy are still giving despite the economic downturn, according to a study by Barclay’s wealth and luxury market consultant Ledbury Research. The study queried 300 Americans and 200 British with an average of $5.4 million in investable assets and found that the wealthy were much more willing to give up luxury goods, staff, eating out, holidays and travel before they would stop giving to charity. Only their children’s education ranked higher than charitable giving when they were asked what they would give up if the downturn proves more protracted.

Jackson National Life reported a record $3.4 billion in retail sales and deposits in the second quarter. In the first half of the year, sales and deposits totaled $6.1 billion, up 3% from the first half of 2008.

With mortgage-backed securities regaining value, PIMCO’s benchmark $169 billion Total Return Fund has been trimming its exposure to this sector, Dow Jones reports. The fund’s holdings of mortgage-backed securities fell to 47% in July, only slightly more than its 42% exposure in April 2007, and down considerably from a peak of 86% in February.

Money market mutual fund assets fell $12.83 billion in the week ended Aug. 12, with the bulk of the redemptions coming from retail investors, the Investment Company Institute said.

The $4.5 billion U.S. Natural Gas Fund, an exchange-traded fund, may have an investment mandate for the U.S., but regulators’ crackdown on speculation is forcing the fund to look overseas, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Although actively managing Treasuries has always proven difficult, PIMCO is making the case for actively managed TIPS funds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Fidelity Investments has partnered with an afterschool program, Building Educated Leaders for Life, to bring the “Stock Market 101” curriculum to middle-school students in the Boston area this summer. It will educate sixth- and seventh-graders about the stock market and the economy to help them learn about the value of investing and, perhaps, encourage some to enter the asset management industry.

The nascent mutual fund industry in India is poised for tremendous growth averaging 29% a year over the next five years, Celent predicts. Driving the growth will be low retail penetration, high household savings rate and increasing interest among foreign asset managers to serve the market.

PMC, the investment management arm of Envestnet, announced the launch of a new tax overlay service Thursday that will allow advisers to minimize tax liabilities on their clients’ portfolios.