Money Management Executive Latest News

TORONTO - Morningstar's five-star ratings system is heading north.

Prudential Insurance Company of Newark, N.J. has purchased a majority stake in the third-largest independent fund management company in Mexico. Prudential last week acquired a 51 percent interest in Apolo Operadora de Sociedades de Inversion of Mexico City. The new company will be named Prudential Apolo Operadora de Sociedades de Inversion. Both companies declined to disclose how much Prudential paid for Apolo Operadora.

The SEC has finalized amendments to a rule which governs the appointment of an interim investment adviser to a mutual fund. The rule clarifies the procedure to be followed when there is a merger of a fund's investment adviser. The revised rule 15a-4, originally adopted in 1980, permits a fund to be advised under a short-term contract until shareholders can vote on a new contract.

An increase in the number of funds filing proxies for name changes reflects trends in mutual fund investment styles and investor preferences, according to mutual fund analysts.

Shareholder activist and hedge fund arbitrageur Phillip Goldstein is clashing again with the investment adviser and directors of a close-end fund.

In anticipation of the introduction of the first Japanese version of 401(k) retirement savings products in the fall of 2000, the National Investment Company Services Administration of Wellesley, Mass. is holding a conference in Tokyo on Dec. 8 for U.S. and Japanese investment management professionals. The conference, the first NICSA will hold in Japan, will provide an opportunity for attendees to trade information about each other's defined contribution and pension markets.

All broker/dealers and non-bank transfer agents have notified the SEC that their systems are ready for the date change on Jan. 1, the SEC has announced.

The boards of directors of 10 BlackRock closed-end municipal funds have decided to withdraw a proxy vote they had wanted to put before shareholders to merge the funds to result in only four funds. The boards made the decision at their quarterly meetings Nov. 18.

Moody's Investors Service of New York will offer ratings for asset managers, custodians and transfer agents of European, Asian and Latin American businesses, the company has announced.

Firsthand Funds of San Jose, Calif. plans to close its Firsthand Technology Innovators Fund when the fund reaches $450 million, the company has announced. The fund currently has $370 million in assets.