Money Management Executive Latest News

Wholesalers of investment products and services, including mutual funds and annuities, saw their total cash compensation dip an average of 18.6% last year, according to a DGL Consultants survey.

Standard and Poor’s this week unveiled a new research product designed to help brokers and financial planners choose equity market sectors.

Nearly 70% of financial industry professionals believe the USA Patriot Act will achieve its projected goal of preventing terrorists from financing and money laundering via the U.S. financial systems, according to a recent poll by eFunds.

MetLife has brought a principal-protection savings option to its North Carolina 529 college savings program. The new Protected Stock Fund requires contributors to contribute $1,000 for at least five years.

State pension plans lost $122 billion in assets due to the sharp market decline of the past year, depleting their assets-to-liabilities ratio by 9%, according to a report by Wilshire Associates. The net result is that major state retirement systems’ liabilities have outpaced growth in assets, according to the report, authored by Steve Nesbitt, senior managing director at Wilshire.

Stilwell Financial will merge into its largest subsidiary, mutual fund giant Janus Capital Corp., at year-end and will distribute all of its products under the Janus brand name, the companies announced today.

Assets in the nation’s mutual funds declined $252.8 billion in July to $6.4 trillion, the Investment Company Institute reported. Stock funds had a record outflow of $52.6 billion. However, while this set a record, it was only 1.7% of equity fund assets, compared with the October 1987 outflow of 3.7%, the ICI said.

Top executives and financial officers at mutual fund companies will have to certify the financial reports that they file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC decided during an open meeting.

While investors withdrew a record $49 billion from equity mutual funds in July, according to Lipper, the news isn't all bad.

Hedge funds are now trying to beat mutual fund companies at their own new game.