Money Management Executive Latest News

Seattle-based Washington Mutual said today that a regional product in its WM Group of Funds will be re-branded as it expands its focus to include companies in the state of California.

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has named Neal Howe managing director and head of consultant relationships for its U.S. and Canadian institutional business, the Merrill unit announced today.

Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which represents securities regulators throughout Canada, will publish a concept proposal for comment on Friday that would alter some basic mutual fund compliance operations.

Credit Suisse Investment Services has opened its first office in the Cayman Islands, the company said.

Witnesses testifying before a House subcommittee that is working to reform 401(k) rules dismissed the idea of limiting the amount of company stock that employees can own in their pension funds, according to a statement released this week by the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Glenbrook Life and Annuity Company has launched a variable annuity series for AIM Distributors, Inc. The VA offers 18 of AIM’s funds in three different share classes. AIM and Glenbrook, a member of the Allstate Financial Group, have been allied for seven years, but the firms have developed a new marketing infrastructure for the AIM Lifetime America Variable Annuity Series.

An unexpected uptick in mutual fund sales in the year’s first two months has prompted many fund companies and brokers to think that the products may finally be pulling out of their more than year-long slump.

Tony James has been appointed chairman of global investment banking and private equity at Credit Suisse First Boston, according to the company.

Early estimates of January’s equity fund flows turned out to be way off. Stock funds experienced net flows of nearly $20 billion, the Investment Company Institute reported today. Lipper’s estimate of $3 billion in flows indicated that it was the worst January in terms of equity inflow since 1991 (See MFMN 2/25/02).

The Hartford today launched its 529 plan, dubbed SMART 529. Sponsored by West Virginia, the plan allows investments in individual mutual funds, static portfolios, and age-based portfolios.