Money Management Executive Latest News

The decline in proxy proposals that seek to change investment restrictions began last year and has continued this year, and so it stands to reason that it is, at least in part, market performance related, said Russ Kinnel, a senior analyst with Morningstar. When the market was doing well, there was impatience on the part of investors with funds that did not yield high returns. Funds that had limits on the percentage of assets that could be invested in equities or on what size companies the fund could buy were fighting with their hands tied behind their back. These days, however, safety is back in vogue.

Subsequently, in addition to a change in market conditions, the direction new SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt will take mutual fund regulation will likely determine the number and nature of those proxy proposals going forward, Martin said.

So far this year, Class A shares of load funds are dominating net sales while Class B shares have decreased significantly from last year, according to a new report from Financial Research Corporation.

New York-based investment advisor Neuberger Berman announced that it will acquire the $800 million in assets managed by Oscar Capital Management LLC. The deal is expected to close by year-end.

When it comes to distribution costs, mid-tier mutual fund companies have traveled a difficult road in recent years. They pay the same as larger firms--and sometimes more--to distribute their products through wholesalers, but they don't see the returns on the investment.

How likely is it that three investors, one with $35,000, another with $100,000, and the third with $400,000, at different ages, in different situations, will all want the same types of online investment advice and traditional guidance? Not very, according to consultants who spoke last week at a forum presented by Cerulli Associates. That's why firms are being pressured to develop and offer what Cerulli calls, "scalable advice."

Eaton Vance Management announced today the appointment of Thomas Faust Jr. as Chief Investment Officer and Duncan Richardson as Chief Equity Investment Officer.

Standard & Poor’s announced today that it will team with fund governance consulting firm Management Practice to provide research and data to mutual fund directors.

A fund broker operating out of Vancouver, British Columbia has been barred from the industry for five years and fined $5,000 (Can.) after he stole $655 (Can.) from a client.

Stock funds posted outflows of $29.04 billion in September, making it the worst month on record and the third month this year in which stock funds have posted net outflows, according to the Investment Company Institute.