Money Management Executive Latest News

Less than a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks destroyed its offices in the World Trade Center and claimed the lives of 38 of its employees, Fred Alger Management announced yesterday that it will keep its headquarters in Manhattan.

In an effort to expand its online presence across the industry, Forward Management has hired a former Morgan Stanley Online executive to oversee its technology efforts.

Executives at defined benefit and defined contribution plans are grappling with large transfers into fixed income in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Transamerica Investment Management announced today that it has been appointed by SEI Investments to serve as a sub-advisor to the large-cap growth and balanced portfolios of its manager of managers program. It has also been appointed sub-advisor to the large-cap growth portfolio of its managed accounts program.

The move out of equity funds by investors has not only increased, it has become a longer-term trip. Early estimates of September outflows from stock funds indicate that investors took out a record $43.9 billion from U.S. stock funds, according to TrimTabs.com. The outflows alone are problematic, but what might constitute an even larger problem for predominantly equity fund firms actually began in August, namely the direction of those outflows. In August, investors continued to turn not only to fixed-income funds, but to longer-term bond funds, according to Lipper. Long-term bond funds had inflows of $15.4 billion in that month. Those funds experienced outflows in every month last year and while they have had consistent inflows this year, average net sales have been $5.5 billion per month, according to Lipper.

Fidelity Investments Institutional Brokerage Group and Frank Russell announced an alliance in which Fidelity will distribute Russell's new multi-manager separately managed account program through its registered investment advisors and correspondent broker/dealers.

Despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the resulting drop in the stock market and the pessimistic short-term economic outlook, several fund companies have gone ahead with launching brand new mutual funds.

The advertising has been austere in its simplicity. Page after page of simple text, in many cases, not even a logo. And with each of these full-page display ads, fund companies have expressed sympathy for the loss of life, assurances that assets are safe, and for those with offices in or near the World Trade Center, thanks for help in getting back on their feet.

A poor economy and rising unemployment rates are making an already difficult defined contribution market even harder for plan providers. Because plan sponsors are occupied with more pressing business concerns in a difficult economic environment, changing or adding a plan provider to their defined contribution plan is not a priority. That has made gaining market share very difficult for many 401(k) providers, say industry observers.

Quantitative Advisors is not the largest fund company in the country. In fact, it's the 329th largest in terms of assets under management, according to Financial Research Corporation. Heather Dondis, director of marketing at Quantitative Advisors, is charged with marketing the six Quant Funds that currently hold $175 million in assets. During this down market, the strategy for the small fund complex is to retain the assets it has as well as to highlight and sell alternative areas of the business.