Money Management Executive Latest News

Money market funds are once again taking it on the chin as they feel the sting of the 12th interest rate cut since January 2001.

NEW YORK - Here's one that should keep you up at night. The Securities and Exchange Commission is known to approve of Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, because they have transparent portfolio holdings, which gels nicely with the commission's agenda to get mutual funds to disclose the contents of their stock portfolios more often. Naturally, ETFs achieve this transparency because they are based on indexes, such as the Nasdaq 100 or the S&P 500.

NEW ORLEANS - High-net-worth, accredited investors hunting for substitutes to the buy-and-hold mantra of mutual funds gathered here for a conference on alternative investments, ranging from gold to private placements to covered calls. The aim of the group, more than 1,000 strong, was to unearth ways to make money now - not when the market finally turns around.

He got the markets running in less than a week after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and waged the most aggressive reforms in the history of the SEC. In the end, it was his own bravado (wanting to be named to the Cabinet) and impediments to true bottom-line numbers (through his poor choice of chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and conflict of interest over his previous work for AOL), that took Chairman Harvey Pitt down.

Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITS, have been the shining stars of this protracted bear market, pulling in billions in assets at a time when fund companies have been suffering month after month of net outflows.

Gazebo, a San Mateo, Calif.-based financial products company, has developed a product that will provide investors with a way to invest in bigger-picture, news-related issues, rather than individual stocks.

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) will join UBS Warburg as vice chairman of the board at the end of his term. The senator is retiring after serving 24 years in Congress, and in his new role, he will advise clients on financial issues and strategy.

Nasdaq Financial Products Services launched a new family of exchange-traded funds this week (ETFs) in partnership with the Bank of New York.

Socially responsible investments (SRI) continue to attract assets despite the volatility of global markets, according to a recent report issued by Cerulli Associates.

William H. Webster, named only days ago to chair the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, stepped down in the wake of the brouhaha enveloping SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, and his own resignation.