Money Management Executive Latest News

Regions Financial Corp. announced several operational changes to the Regions Funds today, including changing the funds’ name to the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Funds.

INVESCO's announcement that it will drop the no-load sales model may be the last such move by a major mutual fund company, despite the shrinking volume of direct sales.

Fidelity Investments reported today that a survey of its 401(k) investors shows that most are undaunted by volatility in the markets and have stuck to their long-term investment plans despite the markets’ doldrums.

Dresdner RCM Global Investors is having a difficult time getting its shareholders to vote for the reorganization it proposed in October. The firm wants to hand over its 13 mutual funds to PIMCO Funds in order to help the expansion of the institutional and retail distribution channels for both firms, as well as to give shareholders exchange privileges among a broader group of funds. Both firms are affiliates under the Allianz AG umbrella.

An Alliance Capital executive’s membership on Enron’s board of directors has raised the issue of a possible conflict of interest, according to a report appearing today in the New York Times.

American Century said today that it would cut 90 workers, or about 3% of its workforce, from its Kansas City–based operations in an attempt to stabilize its finances amid declining markets and dwindling assets under management.

ING DIRECT, an online broker/dealer subsidiary of the ING Group, is venturing into the fund business with the launch of a portfolio of six mutual funds, the company announced today.

TD Asset Management Inc. will offer style-based exchange-traded funds based on the Dow Jones Canada TopCap Value and Growth Indexes. The TD Select Canadian Value Index and TD Select Canadian Growth Indexes are the first Canadian style-based ETFs, the company said.

Brinson Partners’ Brinson Trust U.S. Cash Management Fund was forced to mark down the value of its portfolio this week due to losses from investments in Enron Corp. According to published reports, the cash management pool, similar to a money market fund, reduced its value by 1.91% on Monday. The fund is widely held in corporate 401(k) plans, some of which are administered by Fidelity Investments.

Putnam Investments will add 10 individual asset class investment options to its 529 savings program, Putnam CollegeAdvantage. The company described the additions as the first individual asset options to be available in a 529 program.