Money Management Executive Latest News

A whopping 93% of all equity mutual funds suffered losses in the second quarter, according to Weiss Ratings, which tracks stocks and mutual funds. By comparison, 45% of all equity mutual funds posted losses in the first quarter.

Fifty-seven percent of fund managers believe U.S. equities are overpriced, according to a survey of 78 mutual and 201 institutional fund managers that Merrill Lynch conducted between July 4 and July 11.

Vanguard today filed an application for an exemption with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer VIPER exchange-traded share classes on three international index funds, the Vanguard European Stock Index Fund, the Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund and the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Fund. The first two funds are, respectively, based on the Morgan Stanley Country Index Europe and the Morgan Stanley Country Index Pacific indexes.

Turner Investment Partners has struck a deal with Bank of Ireland Asset Management to distribute the bank’s international value equity investment strategy among managed account platforms throughout the U.S.

The Investment Company Institute is encouraging Congress to consider additions to pending 401(k) reform bills that would allow more people to get advice about their investments.

Equity funds experienced net outflows of $13.8 billion in June, according to estimates reported today by Lipper of New York. That represents the third largest outflow ever and the first month of outflows since September 2001.

Fund companies hoping to secure a piece of the 529 college savings plan business face a scarcity of opportunities. There are, after all, only 50 spots to go around, and 48 are taken.

With lawmakers in Washington calling for Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt's resignation, fund executives said the mutual fund industry is likely to support the embattled regulator.

At the start of 2002, fund families held off merging or liquidating their weaker funds for one quarter while awaiting a market rebound. When it didn't come, fund share class mergers and liquidations skyrocketed back up to their record levels of 2001.

Bucking the current trend to lower the amount of money investors must initially pony up to qualify for a separately managed portfolio, Fenimore Asset Management (FAM) of Cobleskill, N.Y., has done just the opposite. In June, it raised the minimum it accepts for separately managed accounts to $1 million from the previous $750,000 level.