Money Management Executive Latest News

Some mutual fund companies may be about to take an "If you can't beat em, join em" approach to exchange-traded funds.

The two-and-a-half-year-old struggle between Navellier Investment Management of Reno, Nev. and two former independent fund directors is once again heating up with lawsuits being filed by both sides. Navellier has filed a new lawsuit against one former fund trustee who has reciprocated with his own lawsuit. A second former trustee is contemplating filing a similar lawsuit.

A recently enacted Maryland law that makes it more difficult to challenge the independence of fund directors in court is under attack.

Deutsche Bank of Frankfurt, Germany announced last week it will combine the no-load funds from its subsidiaries, Morgan Grenfell of New York and Bankers Trust of New York, to create a new no-load fund family under the Deutsche name.

Even though it has not been determined how contributions to the Japanese version of 401(k) plans will be taxed, U.S. companies interested in taking advantage of the imminent introduction of the plans in Japan should be forming alliances now, according to participants at a recent conference in Tokyo.

Fidelity Investments of Boston and The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. next month will both begin offering their shareholders the ability to file their federal and state income taxes online at no charge. Intuit of San Diego, Calif. will be providing its online tax preparation software, Quicken TurboTax, to both companies.

BOSTON - The key to tapping into an estimated $10 trillion in retail assets in Japan is through women investors, according to a consultant in marketing in Japan.

Profits per customer in the mutual fund industry are the second lowest among financial services, a recent study shows. The study, conducted by Andersen Consulting of Chicago, examines the revenues, costs and profits per customer in the banking, brokerage, mutual fund, mortgage and credit card industries. On average, mutual fund companies make $80 in profit per customer, the second lowest of all financial services, the study shows. Average cost per fund customer is $174 while the average revenue generated per customer is $254.

NEW YORK - Even if there is a zero net flow of investments in the mutual fund industry, small fund complexes should be able to win new customers, according to an industry analyst.

X.com of Palo Alto, Calif., began offering the first products of its on-line financial services last week - three funds in a new family of funds and on-line banking services.