Money Management Executive Latest News

With a potentially groundbreaking governance proposal pending, requiring an independent chairman, there's been a lot of bickering in the mutual fund industry about how to address conflicts in the boardroom.

Putnam's woes are far from over as federal regulators are swinging for the fences and are poised to ask a judge to punish the firm more severely than any company mired in the scandal so far.

The high price of not keeping up with regulatory demands is well documented, but some in the fund industry are growing increasingly concerned about the growing costs of implementing new measures to keep up with a steady stream of proposed requirements.

Mutual fund shareholders' woes stemming from revelations of endemic misconduct has amounted to a windfall for investment bankers. The pace of consolidation within the asset management industry continues to accelerate under the weight of massive regulatory investigation, according to a new study by Putnam Lovell NBF Securities.

Credit Suisse First Boston has announced the creation of an alternative investments unit.

Prudential Investments and China-based Everbright Securities have received a license to launch a fund product in mainland China under the name of a newly formed company, Everbright Prumerica Fund Management Co. The new venture, which will be based in China, will be 67%-owned by Everbright and 33%-owned by Prudential. However, by late this year, Prudential's share could hop up to as much as 49%, thanks to a relaxation of rules China is expected to make stemming from its joining of the World Trade Organization in 2001. The company will have about 100 million yuan worth of registered capital, or $12 million in U.S. dollars.

SEC Names Ricciardi Head of Boston Office

Religion may be a solemn subject. But for the Ave Maria Mutual Funds managed by Schwartz Investment Counsel of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a sense of humor, along with a morality check, is a blessing.

Ameritrade, a well-established online brokerage firm, says it is targeting investment advisers, large and small, to develop assets and build wallet share and is making rapid progress because of a big pricing advantage.

The debate over soft dollars nearly erupted into a barroom brawl on Capitol Hill last week, as the Senate Banking Committee held an open hearing on the much-maligned practice of mutual funds using brokerage commissions to pay for research and overhead costs.