Money Management Executive Latest News

Faced with a decline in manufacturing jobs in Japan, Tokyo is trying to become the area’s financial capital, and one of the first steps in that crusade is the formation of a new stock exchange for Asian start-up companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Moody’s began cutting ratings on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) on Friday, and now Fitch says it expects to severely downgrade scores of CDOs, including as many as two-thirds of those that carry the highest, triple-A rating, The Wall Street Journal reports.

For the first time since June 2006, hedge funds delivered a negative monthly return in August, declining by 1.53%, Investment Week reports, citing data from Lipper’s Hedge Fund Insight Report. And for the first time this year, all hedge fund categories were also negative.

The U.K.’s Financial Services Authority is concerned that hedge funds are remiss in their duty to stamp out market abuse, and as a result, plans to examine a wider range of funds, The Daily Telegraph reports. While some hedge funds have controls in place, they take a “complacent attitude” toward possible infractions.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Oppenheimer & Co. $1 million for intentionally submitting inaccurate mutual fund breakpoint data and for failing to properly supervise its brokers.

Assets in130/30 funds will explode at an annual compound growth rate of 141% over the next three years, rising from $140 billion this year to $2 trillion by 2010, according to TABB Group. By comparison, assets in actively managed equity funds will rise a scant 3%.

Following its acquisition by J.C. Flowers, BISYS Retirement Services will be renamed Ascensus, which is Latin for “moving forward.” Over the coming months, the BISYS name and logo will be gradually phased out.

A number of mutual funds and pension plans are investing in China’s thriving coal industry, the Associated Press reports. But unsafe worker conditions and pollution could create a backlash by socially responsible and sustainability investors.

Financial advisers are increasingly turning to equity income funds because of their ability to provide income while still growing from capital appreciation, MarketWatch reports.

After a meeting with the treasurer of North Carolina where he discovered that condos and hotels saturate the East Coast, AIG founder Michael Lee-Chin realized that the upcoming wave of retiring Baby Boomers is likely to move further south, to the Caribbean, which should spur an economic boom, The Globe and Mail reports.