Money Management Executive Latest News

Two days after three of its employees were put on administrative leave for improper trading – and on the very day it received a subpoena – a Franklin Resources proxy statement revealed that 70-year-old Chairman and CEO Charles Johnson has been awarded a $2 million bonus.

Retirement planning and mutual fund giant Principal Financial said on Tuesday that more staff has improperly traded then originally believed.

Fidelity Investments and the National Securities Clearing Corp. have partnered in a yearlong project to develop the technology to time-stamp mutual fund trades, The New York Times reports. The two giants are hoping that by time-stamping trade orders that come via outside intermediaries, only those orders made by the so-called hard 4 p.m. close will be allowed to get through – thus eradicating illegal late trading once and for all. The Times characterizes this as a "time-stamped lockbox."

Two Former Investment Company Institute chairmen offered 11 suggestions yesterday to re-align the mutual fund industry with its former impeccable image.

Money Management Executive wants to know what you think about the scandal. Take half a minute to answer four questions, including whether you think the Investment Company Institute is serving your interests well: http://www.mmexecutive.com/poll.cfm.

A former attorney turned Las Vegas hedge fund manager has reaped the biggest gains so far in the unfolding mutual fund scandal, the SEC charged yesterday.

One day after admitting it placed three employees on administrative leave for possible market timing infractions, Franklin Resources announced Tuesday that two U.S. prosecutors have served the company with subpoenas.

In his year-end letter to member firms, Matthew P. Fink, the president of the Investment Company Institute called for severe sanctions against those who willfully acted against the interests of shareholders, but warned against misguided fixes to the industry that may end up increasing costs and diminishing returns.

Investors pulled money in November from investment companies facing the most serious charges in the mutual fund investigations, according to monthly data from Lipper Inc.

David S. Ruder, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has been working as an independent consultant for embattled Strong Financial Corp., recommended the firm implement 2% redemption fees and send warning letters to Strong fund trader who buy and sell shares within a 30-day window. The company said it agreed.