Money Management Executive Latest News

If legislation introduced in the House of Representatives late last month becomes law, it would make it easier for fund companies to capture a greater percentage of the nearly $300 billion annual rollover of 401(k) assets, according to industry executives and analysts.

Exchange-traded funds are variously seen as new products that will radically change the mutual fund industry or the latest novelty that will fleetingly appeal to fickle investors and then be forgotten.

Three groups representing consumers are petitioning the SEC to require funds to reveal their holdings on a monthly basis, instead of only twice a year.

The General Accounting Office's report on fund profitability, which draws no conclusion as to whether fund companies have taken advantage of economies of scale to reduce fees but does encourage more disclosure of fees, has elicited a range of responses. It has been dismissed by some industry analysts as a self-serving move by politicians and welcomed by consumer advocates.

MetaMarkets Investments of San Francisco, launched its first advertising campaign, employing a lighthearted theme, over the July Fourth weekend.

Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd. of Toronto will create a fund administration, processing and record-keeping company. The company will service Canadian mutual fund complexes, financial planners and broker/dealers, just as Fidelity's Institutional Brokerage Group Fidelity has done in the U.S. for the past 10 years, Fidelity announced.

BCHICAGO - The recent spate of acquisitions and buyouts in the fund industry are indicative of the profitability of the industry, said industry executives and analysts.

With the volatility of the equity market showing no sign of lessening, some fund companies are taking steps to protect investors from that volatility.

Stillwell Financial began trading independently of Kansas City Southern Industries of Kansas City, Mo. on July 12.

The Rupay-Barrington Financial Group of Arlington, Tex. issued a statement July 17 denying knowledge of a lawsuit the SEC filed against the firm accusing it of fraud. The SEC's charges were posted on its website July 12, and accuse the company of making improper loans to its affiliates resulting in inflated net asset values of its three funds. It also charges the companies with illegally suspending investor's redemptions, according to the SEC filing.