Money Management Executive Latest News

Charles Schwab has launched three index mutual funds based on fundamentally weighted, rather than market cap-weighted, indexes. They are the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company Index Fund, the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small-Mid Company Index Fund and the Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Fund.

Because of the proliferation of the Internet and its nearly universal use by fund investors, it is likely that fund companies will finally succeed in supplanting traditional mutual fund prospectuses with prospectus profiles, according to Dow Jones columnist Chuck Jaffe. A study by the Investment Company Institute found that 92% of fund investors have Internet access and 70% use it every day.

Investors age 50 and above are overwhelmed by mutual fund choices, frustrated by complicated prospectuses and unsure of where to turn to advice. These were some of the key findings from a survey of investors in the Phoenix area by AARP Financial.

The comment period for the independent directors rule ended a month ago, and as the Securities and Exchange Commis-sion nears a vote on the measure, speculation is increasing that it will bend to the industry's fierce opposition to having fund boards run by independent chairmen. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox recently said that one alternative might be appointing a lead independent director, and industry insiders have indicated that the SEC might merely call having an independent chairman a "best practice."

Regulators in Utah have dropped charges of fraud and apologized for dinging the reputation of two First Western Advisors brokers, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

PALM DESERT, Calif.-Interactive data, books and recordkeeping requirements and 12b-1 fees were a few of the key issues repeatedly discussed at the Investment Company Institute's "Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference" here last week.

PALM DESERT, Calif.-Modernizing fund rules, remembering fundamental basics of serving investors, keeping a watchful eye on globalization of the fund industry and facing risky practices head-on were key points of Andrew Donohue's keynote speech at the Investment Company Institute's "Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference" here last week.

OppenheimerFunds has led a group of dissident shareholders of Take-Two Interactive Software in booting out Chief Executive Paul Eibeler and replacing the board with six new directors, Reuters reports. The company’s chairman is now Strauss Zelnick, who was once chairman of BMG Entertainment. Zelnick said he plans to make the company more efficient, although he does not anticipating cutting any jobs in the near future.

Amaranth Advisors, the largest hedge fund in history to collapse, had its first investor lawsuit filed against it last week by the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, according to Reuters.The lawsuit claims that Amaranth’s investing strategy violated its contract that stipulated that the firm’s strategies would be diversified and it would take proper risk controls.

Small-cap stocks are once again outperforming large-cap stocks in the market so far this year, according to Bloomberg columnist Chet Currier.Through the middle of last week, according to Bloomberg data, the Standard & Poor’s 600 Smallcap Index showed a year-to-date advance of 2.9 %, including dividends, while the S&P 500 Index, mostly comprised of large stocks, struggled to a 0.4 % gain.