Money Management Executive Latest News

Financial services giant The Bank of New York Tuesday named Steven Pisarkiewicz executive vice president and head of its investment branch Bank of New York Asset Management, effective May 19.

State Street Corp.’s college savings unit has been chosen by Oregon to develop a multimanager 529 college savings platform.

The Investment Company Institute yesterday urged Congress to act quickly in implementing investment advice legislation and a number of other retirement security provisions of the Pension Security Act of 2003, which the House is scheduled to consider today.

Mutual fund companies, among other financial service providers, cut their advertising spending in the first quarter, as their assets under their management continued to shrink, Dow Jones reports.

SunGard Wealth Management Services, a subsidiary of SunGard, announced yesterday it will acquire two subsidiaries of London Pacific Group that provide Web-based technology to financial institutions offering managed accounts or separately managed accounts. SunGard’s acquisition of the units, London Pacific Advisory Services and London Pacific Securities, is expected to close next month. The value of the deal was not released.

Columbia Management Group, the asset management arm of FleetBoston Financial, yesterday announced the launch of Columbia 529 Plan, a college savings vehicle sponsored by the state of Nevada.

Median Compensation for Investment Professionals Down 22%:Bonuses Take Biggest Hit, Falling 38%The median salary of investment professionals is $148,000, a 22% decline from $165,000 in 2001, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Investment Management Professionals (AIMR) and Russell Reynolds Associates. This is the lowest compensation has been in five years, according to the survey.

UBS President Peter Wuffli says he sees the signs of the end of the bear market, Reuters reports. Wuffli made the remarks in a conference call following his firm’s first-quarter results. Although UBS’ net profit fell to $1.2 billion Swiss francs and operating income fell 19%, the results were better than expected.

AIG Fund Management will acquire two investment funds currently being administered by another firm, Swiss Life, pending Swiss regulatory approval, Reuters reports. AIG says this move will expand its asset management business.

According to research by AMG Data Services for the week ending May 7, U.S. junk bond mutual funds brought in $1.3 billion, extending an already record-breaking rally.