Money Management Executive Latest News

Although they may have lost their battle to get Fidelity Investments to drop mutual funds that are linked to genocide in Sudan, activists say they are emboldened that more than one out of four shareholders voted in favor of their proposal.

While the Securities and Exchange Commission looks into unusually high “put” activity at Bear Stearns beginning on March 7, a handful of hedge fund managers used their magical touch as far back as the summer to foresee what was going down with regards to the subprime exposure at the investment firm. Greenlight Capital , Harbinger Capital Partners , Paulson Investment Co . and Tremblant Capital Group are among the larger hedge funds to place short positions on the stock, undoubtedly inspired by the subprime troubles in its hedge funds, The Wall Street Journal reports. Thus, the hedge fund managers handily earned themselves millions. As The Journal puts it, the asset managers are undoubtedly “trying to contain their joy among all the gloom on Wall Street.” Also this morning, the Associated Press cites a regulatory filing indicating that U.K. billionaire Joseph Lewis is valiently attempting to hold onto his 8.4% stake in Bear Stearns. And further across the pond, the Russian police have raided the Moskow offices of energy joint venture TNK-BP. So while the market gyrates with bad news from Bear Stearns, there is, of course, always the counterplay—as evidenced by JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Lewis, Greenlight Capital and other savvy hedge fund managers. The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

Shareholders in a number of large Fidelity mutual funds, most notably the $73 billion Contrafund, succeeded in forcing a proxy vote that will take place later today on whether the company should institute a “genocide-free” investment policy, the Associated Press reports. The unbinding measure is unlikely to pass, however.

After a year of record growth, Hartford Financial Services Inc. wants to expand its 529 college savings business over the next two years by increasing sales and perhaps by becoming a plan sponsor in another state.

Charles Schwab is now offering a program fee rebate on its managed mutual fund portfolios, Schwab Managed Portfolios, to investors who put $25,000 or more of assets into a new or existing retirement account.

Nationwide Financial, a Columbus, Ohio, investment manager, opened a website Monday to give mutual funds and other partner firms the resources to help sales agents, principally financial advisers, develop retirement plan business.

Rydex Investments is offering a new fund of funds that offers exposure to the alternatives marketplace to individual investors.

Citadel Investment Group LLC has hired Patrick Edsparr to be its European CEO and global head of fixed income.

Citigroup has named John Havens as its new head of investment banking and alternative investments group.

Asset management firm Rampart Investment Management has named R. Dino Davis as vice president and product specialist.