Money Management Executive Latest News

Morningstar already raised eyebrows when it told investors to think twice about keeping their money with Putnam, Janus, Alliance and Strong. And now the leading fund research firm has gone even further out on a limb.

Continuing the recent trend of firms taking over as investment advisors for existing funds, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. has just finalized a long-discussed deal to grab the reigns of AXA Rosenberg Funds and thus created a new fund network, Laudus Funds.

Kevin Parke, president of Massachusetts Financial Services, may be suspended by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with an investigation into the fund company's practices.

The editors of Money Management Executive want to know how Fundgate has affected your sales environment, customer service approach and communications at your firm. Our first questionnaire on Eliot Spitzer, the Investment Company Institute and regulatory reform was successfully completed last month. Keep an eye on MME for the results.

Alliance Capital Management said it plans to overhaul its retail mutual fund business, a long-term initiative that may involve shrinking its fund lineup.

U.S. mutual fund companies experienced a $178.9 billion increase in assets during December 2003, a 2.5% increase from November that brought the total fund industry asset total to $7.413 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute's "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing" report for December 2003.

Vanguard Group, the nation’s second-largest mutual fund company, announced that 14 new exchange-traded funds began trading Friday on the American Stock Exchange.

To avert any potential scandals like those that have plagued equity analysts, the Bond Market Association has drafted its own guidelines for independent fixed income research. And these are slated for discussion this Friday at a BMA-sponsored Asset Managers Forum in New York.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The mutual fund fee bill is in the mail. And it should spell out, in hard dollars and cents, all the hidden costs of mutual funds, including 12b-1 fees. And these total costs can be so significant that in some cases they are several times greater than the fund's stated expense ratio.

Separately managed account pioneer Frank Campanale doesn't see any outstanding areas where regulators might swoop in and shake up the industry's foundation like in the mutual fund arena - but thinks there is a small window that might draw scrutiny.