Money Management Executive Latest News

Lost amidst all the debate in the industry over whether newly anointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox will run the regulator with an iron fist or a blind eye, is the long-standing issue of whether mutual fund prospectuses will ever become user-friendly.

Merrill Lynch's diversified portfolios line of products has topped $10 billion in assets. The company is also adding four outside managers to the mutual fund version of the product, creating Funds Diversified Portfolios (FDP) - Multi-Firm.

Christopher Cox, the newly appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, addressed the agency's staff for the first time Thursday, reminding them that "other people's money" is what the SEC is all about.

Investors are increasingly recognizing the need for professional advice and comprehensive financial planning. Half of GenX investors, 46% of Baby Boomers and 45% of Matures believed they needed "the help of professionals," according to the most recent "Across Generations" survey from MainStay Investments, a division of New York Life Investment Management.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a cease-and-desist proceeding against the Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust (UESP), the first against a 529 plan. The agency has also released an investor education guide that explains the basics that investors should know before saving for college.

The New York Stock Exchange is looking into nipping Volume Weighted Average Price, or "VWAP," an increasingly common trade-order and hedging technique, in the bud.

Life insurance is traditionally a labor-intensive and complex sale, one that turns away many brokers accustomed to the ease of "dropping a ticket" in a simpler securities transaction.

Placemark Investments has announced that more than 100 investment managers are now participating in its unified managed account (UMA) programs via the firm's overlay management process.

In what could set a new precedent in the persisting mutual fund scandal, Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a former broker at Prudential Securities for wire and securities fraud related to mutual fund market timing.

Muddle through.