Money Management Executive Latest News

WELLESLEY, Mass. - As U.S. mutual fund companies continue to globetrot in search of growth opportunities, they are increasingly looking to service providers to help them adapt.

Amy Domini, the chairman and president of Domini Funds of New York and a widely respected pioneer of the socially responsible investment world, recently announced that four of her eight mutual funds would no longer invest according to the socially responsible equity index that bears Domini's name. Instead, in a provocative move intended to pump up the sagging performance of the funds, the funds will shift to an active investment management strategy later this year.

Citing a need for an organization to support financial advisers, accountants, insurance agents, attorneys and other professionals who serve the high-net-worth market, a group of advisers from around the nation has launched the Wealth Advisor Institute.

Vanguard next month will introduce a new share class for institutional clients, called Signal Shares. It will initially apply to 12 equity and fixed-income index funds, with fees ranging between nine and 13 basis points. Eventually, Vanguard will apply the share class to more of its funds. Signal Shares are aimed at pension plans, endowments and financial advisers. It is Vanguard's third share class for institutional investors and its fifth altogether.

Keefe, Bruyette Names Roth CEO of Asset Unit

WASHINGTON - The best new idea in mutual funds might start with a trip to the gym.

Forty-three percent of Americans are likely to struggle in retirement and fully a third could fall into poverty, according to a report from the Center for Retirement Research.

Dow Jones has launched an index that tracks the 50 largest companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China, called the Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index. It will invest in 15 companies in Brazil, India and China and five in Russia.

Flows to retirement accounts managed by Fidelity Investments rose 62% in the first four months of this year from a year earlier, compared with a 21% increase in the January to April 2005 from the year before, the company announced.

Commodity mutual funds that invest in index-linked derivatives have a little longer to switch gears, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled, according to The Wall Street Journal. Last year, the regulator demanded that mutual funds that invested in commodities derivatives change their strategies.