Money Management Executive Latest News

Although some mutual fund insiders have argued that privatizing Social Security would not be a boon for the industry because the account sizes would be small and the fees would be scant, other executives are circumspectly throwing their support behind the idea, The New York Times reports. Reluctant to come out publicly in favor of privatization for fear of being accused of wanton greed, fund companies are reportedly backing the proposal behind the scenes through trade associations, business groups, conservative think tanks and campaign donations.

ADP Brokerage Services Group, a division of Automatic Data Processing, announced Tuesday that its software unit will team up with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation to upgrade year-end tax reporting for its customers on more than 12,000 mutual funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other securities whose tax status is restructured at the end of the year.

BISYS announced Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire RK Consulting, a hedge fund and private equity administration company that is an affiliate of international accounting and consulting firm Rothstein Kass. The companies didn’t disclose terms of the deal. Upon closing, BISYS will have more than $180 billion in hedge fund and private equity assets under administration.

Schwab Institutional, which provides custody and trading support for fee-based investment advisers, has pledged a donation of $300,000 over the next three years to the Financial Planning Association’s National Financial Planning Support Center.

Franklin Resources, parent company of the Franklin Templeton family of mutual funds, said it will eliminate one of its funds in the wake of a scandal in which a broker used misleading sales practices.

The HighMark Funds new website received exactly that when it was declared the winner of the Web Marketing Association’s 2004 "Best of Industry" award in the mutual fund category.

California regulators on Monday filed a securities fraud lawsuit against brokerage house Edward D. Jones alleging the firm failed to disclose shelf space payments it received from seven mutual funds to promote and sell those funds.

Fidelity Investments fined its high-profile head of stock trading, Scott De Sano, amid a federal probe of its gift-giving and business entertainment activities, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A Securities and Exchange Commission employee is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for attempting to win a bribe from an executive at a company regulated by the nation’s top securities regulator, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

The distributor and investment advisor for the Franklin Templeton family of mutual funds has agreed to pay $20 million to settle charges that they made ill use of brokerage commissions.