Money Management Executive Latest News

AXA Distributors has introduced Sales Wizard, a new sales tool available to advisers through its online wholesaler Web site. The tool allows advisers to access contact lists and generates a sales package in five steps.

Deutsche Bank has found accounting problems in the way it calculated expenses for nearly 200 of its Scudder Investments family of funds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Despite its position on the rating watch negative list, Marsh & McLennan, the parent company of maligned fund giant Putnam Investments, received a senior debt rating of A+ from Fitch. The company's short-term rating was placed at F1.

Barclays Global Investors Canada has declared April 12 "Fee Freedom Day," the date when investors will be able to keep all of their returns, rather than pay management fees. The firm calculates the date based on five-year median returns on Canadian equity funds. Last year, "Fee Freedom Day" fell on July 28, due to improved returns in 2004.

Morgan Stanley announced yesterday that it intends to acquire Barra Inc., a stock and bond index analysis specialist, in a cash transaction valued at $816.4 billion.

State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corp. in Boston, promoted Peter Leahy Tuesday to chief operating officer.

Collective punishment from small mutual fund investors outweighs industry fines

Excessive swapping of variable annuity contracts has now become a focus among securities regulators. who say the activities potentially amount to a form of churning, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining potential market timing activity in a Baltimore branch of Morgan Stanley, The Wall Street Journal reports. While the SEC and the NASD have sanctioned the firm for its sales practices, this is the first time it is being investigated for timing.

Employees of maligned fund giant Putnam Investments tiptoed around company procedures in the area of expense payments, several Putnam funds admitted in a series of disclosures to shareholders.