Money Management Executive Latest News

American Funds holds a 12.4% stake in Heinz, more than twice the 5.5% stake of dissident, billionaire shareholder Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners. And that means that American Funds could hold the key to whether Peltz, a self-proclaimed "operational shareholder activist," gets the three seats on the Heinz board he is seeking.

Canadian fund companies took umbrage recently when researchers issued a report saying they charge the highest fees in the world--and now they plan to do something about it, The Toronto Star reports.

New and innovative technology is being demanded by hedge funds and investment in IT is expected to reach $3.3 billion by 2009, according to a Datamonitor report.

MFS Investment Management, a unit of Sun Life Financial, might undergo some changes in the future--one of them being a potential sale. The stock price of the Canadian insurance giant might be an indication of what's in store, according to Boston Globe columnist Steven Syre.

If the Federal Reserve and other policy makers can pull off a "soft landing" similar to the one that occurred following the big run-up in stocks in 1985-1986 and again in 1995-1996, investors will be smiling.

With the historically rocky stock market months of September and October nearing, investors will likely be looking into exchange-traded-fund options to protect investments, Investor's Business Daily reports. As ETFs continue to gain in popularity, more options have been written on the funds.

Fidelity Investments suffered the greatest amount in outflows of all mutual fund companies in July, losing $2.24 billion, according to data from Financial Research Corp., The Wall Street Journal reports. It was the only one of the top 10 fund companies to experience outflows. The outflows come on the heels of $4.6 billion in outflows in June and $1.2 billion in May.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued KHF Advisor investment firm founder Knox Fuqua for allegedly embezzling money from his clients to pay for personal and business items. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions and an order directing that Fuqua get rid of all the ill-gotten gains and pay civil penalties.

The NASD fined American Funds Distributors $5 million Wednesday for violating the NASD anti-reciprocal rule that precludes investment companies from directing trades to brokerage firms in exchange for preferential sales treatment for their funds.

With students returning to school and media interest in 529 college savings plans renewed by the new pension bill, John Hancock College Savings has launched a seven-week campaign to promote its 529 plan, which it offers through Alaska.