Money Management Executive Latest News

A new bill banning the sale of a certain type of mutual fund on military bases drew unanimous support from a House panel Wednesday, as lawmakers look to protect young American troops from shady sales practices and ill-suited investment products.

Dire prognostications that the slew of new strict and costly regulatory requirements will drive small-fund managers to bail out from the mutual fund business in droves, have not materialized. At least not yet. But new rules have caused advisors to take a fresh look at their fund business.

The National Association of Securities Dealers has widened its inquiry into sales of 529 plans by investment advisors and brokers, more than tripling the number of firms under scrutiny to 20. The regulator began its fact-finding investigation in June of 2003 with an analysis of six large broker/dealers.

Wilmington Announces Expansion, New Hires

As significant federal regulation passed earlier this year begins to take effect, industry professionals are seeking greater guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission on specific reporting mandates and examining the benefits of implementing optional requirements.

MME: The financial sector has always had a guarded approach to speaking with the press, but you say firms have been unusually shy of the media as of late. How do you explain this trend?

Don McMullen, high-profile head of Wachovia Corp.’s capital management wing, will retire effective Dec. 31 and receive a $7.7 million cash buyout, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Edina, Minn.-based Kopp Funds announced the launch of a new fund, The Kopp Total Quality Management Fund. The fund, which will focus on the S&P 500 and its "core universe of companies," grades each company in the index based on its demonstrated commitment to total quality management and then ranks it against its peers in its industry. The top 100 companies make up the new fund.

Amvescap continued to phase-out the Invesco brand name last week as it cut 26 jobs, including four fund managers, at the beleaguered fund shop’s offices at the Denver Tech Center, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

While it is widely known that mutual funds are popular among regular citizens, a Virginia watchdog group has learned that funds are also the investment vehicle of choice for the governors of the Federal Reserve, The Chicago Sun Times reports.