Money Management Executive Latest News

American Express Financial Corp. has acquired Dynamic Ideas, a quantitative analysis and portfolio optimization firm founded in 1999. Amex would not disclose the terms of the deal.

What kind of marketing support do financial advisers want from mutual fund companies?

NEW YORK - A crisis of confidence among investors is worse than many thought, a panel of investment executives hosted by the New York Society of Security Analysts concurred last week.

Although fund companies increased their advertising spending slightly by 3% between the first and second quarters of this year, marketing consultants said they were surprised by the gains and that companies would likely cut their ad spending drastically during the second half of the year. They also emphasized that compared to figures for last year, advertising spending is still down considerably.

The American Express Funds' board of directors has chosen to play musical chairs - in its own boardroom. The group will be welcoming six new board members, pending shareholder approval.

Most of the calculators that fund firms offer financial professionals calculate potential investment returns and have become commonplace in the industry.

Index fund kingpin Vanguard Group of Valley Forge, Pa., has tinkered with the index tracking methodology it uses for its Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund. The move was driven by the fund's growth of assets under management; the fund has grown almost three-fold, from $1.7 billion at year- end 1996 to $4.9 billion today, according to Vanguard.

The District of Columbia has selected Calvert as the program manager for its 529 plan. Besides offering investments in the plan, Calvert will also administer and market it.

The Bank of New York has signed an agreement with a provider of managed account technology platforms.

JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management has partnered with Alliance Capital Management to provide Rhode Island's 529 college savings plan. Called the JPMorgan Higher Education Plan and to be managed by the two firms, it will be distributed by J.P. Morgan Fund Distributors.