Money Management Executive Latest News

The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has plans to propose rules that would require that e-mails at investment advisory firms be retained for a specified period of time and be made available in certain formats. The SEC would also require firms to allow it access to any e-mail messages, including internal communications. It is likely that the staff will make these recommendations by the end of the year, according to Doug Scheidt, associate director in the SEC's office of investment management.

Fidelity Investments reported net profit of $1.3 billion in 2005, up 20% from $1.1 billion in 2004. It was the second-most profitable year in the firm's 60-year history. Funds that Fidelity manages fell 46% to $17.4 billion, primarily due to net outflows of $6.8 billion. However, funds for which Fidelity acts as a custodian in brokerage and retirement accounts rose 17%, helping to boost Fidelity's total assets by 9%, to $1.2 trillion.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to take another look at a portion of its new redemption fee rule, a development that would likely relieve a tremendous burden from the shoulders of the nation's fund companies.

As the soft dollar squeeze forces fund companies to show exactly how they spend their commission fees, they are increasingly relying on in-house research, according to a recent report by Integrity Research Associates.

Reserve Management of New York, advisor to both The Reserve and the Hallmark Series of Funds, filed a preliminary proxy late last month that reveals a slew of problems that the firm is grappling with, some of which could raise regulatory ire and prove to be quite costly.

With assets in and the number of exchange-traded funds continuing to rise, Morningstar is now rating 107 ETFs on the market, based on their risk-adjusted returns in their respective peer groups, as well as their expense ratios. To be eligible for the ratings, which Morningstar is making available to investors at its website at no charge, the funds must be three years old. Thus, Morningstar is rating only 107 of the 201 ETFs sold in the U.S. The ratings are designed to help investors compare one ETF to another as well as to regular mutual funds.

A relatively small number of funds have attracted a large share of capital in recent years, and that could mean trouble, according to Russel Kinnel, an analyst with Morningstar.

State Street Names Analyst New Director of Research

NEW YORK - Fund companies that might be ramping up for a rush by investors from value to growth would be wise to listen to Warren Koontz, Jr., manager of the Loomis Sayles Large Cap Value Fund.

There was a time when investing was considered a man's job. No more.