Money Management Executive Latest News

A pair of money managers working for Harvard University’s endowment fund collectively netted more than $50 million in fees in fiscal 2004 for delivering top-tier performance in their respective investment fields, Reuters reports.

The selection of Internet-driven mutual funds has subsided in recent years, as investors increasingly thumbed their noses at investments rooted firmly in the technology sector, Dallas Morning News reports.

And now, this Thanksgiving week, a reason for funds to give thanks.

Federal securities regulators are scheduled to vote Dec. 15 on reforms to the national market system, including a provision requiring brokers to execute customer orders at the best price available regardless of which exchange that price exists on, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule requiring mutual fund boards to seat independent directors picked up support this week from two powerful congressional financial services committee members.

The management of The Korea Fund, Inc. narrowly avoided a coup by investors in a recent shareholders meeting, but aggravated investors succeeded in electing two candidates to the fund's board of directors.

The SEC settled with Harold J. Baxter and Gary L. Pilgrim for fraud charges surrounding undisclosed market timing. Each has been ordered to pay $60 million in disgorgement and $20 million in civil penalties. This, combined with the $90 million that Pilgrim, Baxter & Associates was ordered to pay in July 2003, will eventually go to injured investors. The SEC has also permanently barred both from the industry. Stephen M. Cutler, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said the "severity of misconduct" warranted the unprecedented settlement amounts and permanent bars.

Franklin Templeton Investments agreed to pay $18 million to California for failing to disclose it paid brokers for shelf space, Bill Lockyer, the state's attorney general, announced. Of this money, $14 million will be reimbursed to investors, $2 million is for a civil penalty and $2 million is to reimburse Lockyer's office for the investigation. Franklin also agreed to fully inform investors about shelf-space deals going forward. Lockyer settled a similar case with PIMCO for $9 million in September. His investigation into American Funds is ongoing.

Janus Capital next year will launch three mutual funds in hopes of maintaining its position as an equity growth powerhouse, Reuters reports.

Merrill Lynch will become the first foreign institution to list a mutual fund on China's exchanges, as it begins selling its latest investment product to domestic investors this week, Reuters reports.