Money Management Executive Latest News

Investors, mystified about current events and the seesaw stock markets of the past few months, invested less money in equity funds in May than in any month since April 2003, research firm Lipper reported last week.

There was no place of refuge for tainted mutual fund shop Pilgrim Baxter & Associates, as the company last Monday agreed to a $100 million settlement with regulators for engaging in abusive trading practices.

Some states are unfairly discriminating against investors choosing to invest in 529 college savings plans outside of the state in which they reside, creating mounting problems for the industry, according to a recent white paper by the College Savings Foundation (CSF).

For mutual funds, it was the shot heard round the world.

Rep. Paul Gillmore (R-Ohio) has introduced a companion bill in the House to the Mutual Fund Reform Act sponsored by Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) in the Senate. A companion bill is similar or identical to another piece of legislation introduced in the opposite house of Congress. Fitzgerald's bill aims to ban 12b-1 fees and improve disclosure on mutual fund fees so that consumers can more easily compare what they pay for competing funds.

The Internal Revenue Service is expected to issue guidance on how to bring 403(b) plan regulation in line with the 2001 tax law changes. Sources say this will be the first time that the IRS has made sweeping comprehensive changes to these plan rules since 1964.

Mallozzi Joins Prudential As Senior Vice President

Morningstar Managing Director Don Phillips has been a visible industry figure since the scandal broke, calling for investors to avoid certain shops entangled in the scandal as well as urging the industry to adopt several reforms. MME Associate Editor Chris Frankie sat down with Phillips just before the Morningstar Investment Conference to get his views on the ICI's new president, Congress and investors.

May 2003 was the worst month for Fidelity Investments, at least when it comes to bond and stock funds, according to Reuters.

For now, proposals to overhaul the safe-harbor provision are just those – proposals. A top Securities and Exchange Commission official said Thursday that 2005, not 2004, will be the year where the practice of using soft money for stock research and trading commissions might end, Reuters reports.