Money Management Executive Latest News

Of the 100 hedge funds that have failed over the past 20 years, 50 of them shuttered due to misrepresentation of fund investments, misappropriation of investor funds, unauthorized trading or inadequate resources, according to Capco. More careful due diligence could have prevented such mistakes, according to the financial services technology firm.

The deteriorated stock market and weak economy will force 2.3 million households to delay retirement, according to an Intuit survey of 500 people with an annual household income of $75,000 or more, who actively manage their investments. Last year, 1.9 million households reported a delay in their retirement plans.

Van Wagoner Capital Management has disclosed in an SEC filing that the regulator is poised to start enforcement proceedings against it. At issue is Van Wagoner's alleged failure to properly value certain private holdings in its funds. According to the filing, it could face unspecified civil and administrative actions. Also facing possible actions are a firm employee, a director and two past directors.

With February trading activity down 21% from a year ago, Charles Schwab & Co. announced yesterday that it would put a freeze on new hires and capital investments and reduce expenses to save $40 million a quarter, "until such time as the business environment improves," David S. Pottruck, president and co-CEO said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the new proxy vote disclosure rule meets the standards of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Investment Company Institute charges.

Lipper and Standard & Poor’s, the latter in conjunction with Business Week, announced their 2002 mutual fund award winners yesterday.

Barclays Global Investors has filed a prospectus with the SEC to add iShares Lehman U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund to its fixed income ETF product offerings.

WASHINGTON – Congress is prepared to take a fine-tooth comb to the mutual fund business to determine whether investors are getting a fair shake.

The performance of subadvised funds versus those managed in-house is a mixed bag, according to Lipper. Only municipal bond subadvised funds consistently outperformed their in-house counterparts in the one-, three- and five-year periods.

Insurers that sell fixed annuities have found themselves in a pickle. Investors are buying them like hot cakes, but the low interest rate environment has slimmed their margins considerably. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has taken steps to ease the pressure on carriers because of the financial solvency risks associated with fixed annuities.