Money Management Executive Latest News

The Phoenix Companies has a new Edge – Freedom Edge, that is. The new C-share variable annuity replaces Retirement Planner’s Edge, which was discontinued in September of last year because many planners were placing the bulk of assets in the fixed account. Slim spreads between offered rates and prevailing interest rates put profitability pressure on the company.

Employees who want private college educations for their children now have a college savings vehicle, too.

The effects of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s probe into mutual fund late trading and market timing are beginning to reach far and wide. The U.S. attorney for the Justice Department in Manhattan, James Comey, is joining the case, The Wall Street Journal reports. With Comey on board, the stakes become higher because the penalties now carry the threat of possible federal prosecution. The news follows the Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement Friday that it was joining forces with Spitzer.

Investors in defined contribution plans through Charles Schwab & Co. will receive the company’s investment advice for free, the company announced Monday.

Say goodbye to Locust Street Securities and Washington Square Securities. No, the firms aren’t closing shop, but their names will vanish at year-end, as parent ING joins the two firms together. Characterizing the move as an "integration," the ING Advisors Network said the new entity would be known as ING Financial Partners, Inc., starting Jan. 1. Karl Lindberg, currently president of Locust Street, will be the CEO of the new firm.

The separately managed account industry is just reaching the tip of the iceberg.

The hedge fund industry may have slowed down a bit during the quiet summer months. Then again, it may be continuing the strong growth that made the product the talk of Washington back in the spring. It all depends on who you talk to.

In the first of a long series of arbitrations through the National Association of Securities Dealers, a panel has awarded around $110,000 to an investor who had been sold variable annuities by John Steven Blount, a former broker for New York Life Securities. Blount has 97 customer complaints on record with the NASD, with the bulk of those pending arbitration.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's move to require fund advertisements to disclose a fund's most recent month's performance as well as a toll-free number or Web site where they can view up-to-date figures may soon become a reality. Paul Roye, director of the division of investment management at the SEC, said the commission might make this a rule by September or October. Two other proposals could be passed by November, Roye added. The first would require funds to disclose fund fees in dollar amounts for a $10,000 investment over the past six months, and the second would require funds to disclose their holdings on a quarterly rather than on a semi-annual basis. Funds would have to disclose the holdings within 60 days after the end of a quarter.

A good wholesaler has the personality, the character and the experience to profile their customers astutely in order to gain their trust and commitment. They know how to work as a true, comprehensive consultant to each of their clients. But even seasoned wholesalers can learn a new technique or two. SEI Investments recently ran a two-day training class to teach best practices to wholesalers, including how to compete with wholesalers whose fund complexes have larger sales force, marketing budgets and product offerings.