Money Management Executive Latest News

The Bush administration has nominated Wall Street veteran William Donaldson to replace Harvey Pitt as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but observers said it’s too early to say what the appointment will mean for the mutual fund business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will consider a handful of proposed changes to the Investment Company Act at its open meeting 10 a.m. tomorrow, most of which are intended to give investors more information about how their funds invest and how much those funds cost.

The Investment Company Institute said on Friday that it opposes a Securities and Exchange Commission initiative to require that fund companies disclose how they vote on proxies. But the trade group endorsed certain proposals within the initiative, such as requiring that funds adopt policies for voting in situations where there is a conflict of interest, and that they disclose those policies to the SEC.

What lies ahead for 2003? This time of year, many mutual fund economists, chief investment officers and portfolio managers offer up their crystal-ball predictions on what the new year will bring.

NEW YORK - Despite fund companies facing myriad challenges, there's actually good news to report, said Avi Nachmany, director of research at Strategic Insight, a research and consulting firm in New York City, speaking at a media conference sponsored by The Enterprise Group of Funds of Atlanta.

As attendees at the Investment Company Institute's Securities Law Developments Conference sit down in Washington today to discuss key regulatory issues facing the fund business, some are wondering whether they will be wasting their breath.

Does anyone really care about proxy votes? That's the big question as last Friday's deadline loomed for comment on a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would require disclosure of mutual fund proxy voting on public companies [see MFMN 9/30/02, 10/21/02].

The Academy of Financial Services Studies and Precision Marketing Partners have named Henry J. Schulthesz principal and senior member of the executive team, where he will expand The Academy's professional development programs and improve Precision's distribution strategy assignments.

Ellyn McColgan has been appointed president of Fidelity Brokerage Co., the retail and institutional brokerage arm of fund giant Fidelity Investments. She previously served as president of Fidelity Financial Intermediary Services, which includes the firm's institutional services company and Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd. She replaces Kevin Kelly.

Jeffrey Miller has been elected CEO by GoldK, as part of a succession plan to replace the current chairman and CEO, Brian Boyle. The plan began last spring when Miller was hired from Putnam Investments as EVP and head of distribution for GoldK.