Money Management Executive Latest News

Fidelity Taps Paton Twice; Adds Two to Debt Fund Squad

The series of unconventional print advertisements that the Guinness Atkinson Funds, Glendora, Calif., have been running in the Wall Street Journal since the start of this year are definitely not your typical mutual fund ads.

With a scandal comes a scramble. Major changes among top executives are taking place at Bank of America, Putnam, Alliance and other high-profile firms.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin charged Cantella Securities of Boston Wednesday with improperly selling a hedge fund to non-accredited investors, who each lost about $100,000 apiece. Registered reps James Pangione and Timothy Rassias were charged with the improper sales, as well as wiping out 90% of the assets in two hedge funds by investing the money in tech.

Chicago-based Nuveen Investments said Wednesday it saw a 20% increase in assets under management from a year ago, as the company set a record for yearly income with $144 million.

Out with the old and in with the new. The first part of the Money Management Executive fund scandal questionnaire is almost completed, with Sunday, January 25th as the final day we will be accepting votes for our first four questions. Weigh in here on the Investment Company Institute, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the industry’s biggest woes, and potential reform, now before its too late.

Equity funds experienced their 10th consecutive month of net inflows in December, but it was the smallest amount the group had seen since May. Equity funds pulled in $15.5 billion in the final month of the year

Conseco and a handful of other insurance giants that offer variable annuities have received subpoenas from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the New York Post reports Friday. Lincoln National and Hartford Financial Services Group are two other companies Spitzer’s office is investigating for whether they knowingly permitted market timers to move in and out of their VAs.

Waddell & Reed Financial announced Tuesday it had completed the mergers of the Advantus Funds and the Ivy Funds family.

By mid-February, financial advisers who think that AdvisorCentral is just another mutual fund data aggregation tool might change their perspectives.