Money Management Executive Latest News

With the SEC's deadlines drawing near, even the most hopeful firms will now have to face the reality of compliance with the rule. Botula said that its FundStation and FundStation.net users already have or soon will adopt the firm's after-tax service. However, the firm is still receiving calls from non-clients.

State Street Investments' 529 college savings business, Schoolhouse Capital, has partnered with OppenheimerFunds on its 529 plan and will begin distributing the plan through OppenheimerFunds' Distributor network later this year, the companies announced last week. The plan will feature investment products from both firms.

Volatile markets that have sapped flows and shifting distribution models are creating a hostile work environment for many fund wholesalers who are finding themselves lighter in the wallet and sometimes out of work, according to industry observers.

When the going gets tough the tough get going--or at least consider new-fangled strategies.

There are two artifacts on the Vanguard Group's Valley Forge, Penn. campus that recall a 25-year-old fight. One is an eight-foot statue of John Bogle that executives pass each day on their way to the lunchroom. The other is a poster outside Bogle's office door. In the style of World War II-era propaganda, it reads: "Help stamp out index funds. Index funds are un-American."

You might say Morningstar's unofficial philosophy is: "Listen to me, just not so closely."

Identity theft has the distinction of being one of the fastest growing categories of white-collar crime, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 32% over the next four years. Though consumers are usually thought to be its main victims, mutual fund companies and other financial services firms also pay for the crime.

Mfmarketnews.com is keeping abreast of the industry's latest developments with postings twice a day. If you didn't log on last week, here are some Web exclusives you missed:

Delaware Investments is one firm that has adopted a consultative sales approach with its wholesaling unit. Last year, Delaware shifted all distribution of its products to Lincoln Financial Distributors, the distribution arm of its parent company, Lincoln Financial Group.

In an effort to better leverage its institutional product line, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has restructured its U.S. Institutional Distribution Group, tapping industry veteran Dick Hoag for a senior position.