Money Management Executive Latest News

There may never again be anything quite like George Nichols' Internet Fund Fan Club website.

American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo. has teamed up with Automatic Data Processing of Roseland, N.J. to provide 401(k) plans to small businesses.

Generation X mutual fund shareholders, those aged 18 to 33, are diligently saving money at a faster rate than older investors, according to data recently collected by the Investment Company Institute. They are also more likely to participate in defined contribution plans, are better educated, and are more computer literate, according to the data.

William H. Miller III, one of the most successful managers in the mutual fund industry and a key to Legg Mason's success in fund sales, has formed a new company with Legg Mason which will manage a new Miller-run fund, possibly by year end.

As the mutual fund industry matures, it is increasingly pulling its marketing expertise from companies that know nothing about mutual funds or even financial services but know a lot about branding.

LONDON - Fund managers in the UK have rushed to discredit research showing that a new type of pooled fund structure which managers are increasingly using costs private investors far more than any other type of fund.

Toronto - Distributors of mutual funds face more scrutiny, higher costs and stricter rules as a result of recent moves by Canadian regulators to increase consumer protection and standardize the rules governing the firms and individuals who sell these products.

Berger Associates of Denver, Colo. is adjusting its mutual fund expenses and cutting fees in an effort to become more competitive. The 11-fund, no-load group with a combined $5 billion in assets recently notified its shareholders that as of Oct. 1, it would be either cutting the management fee outright or initiating fee breakpoints on all but one of its mutual funds. In addition, effective Oct. 1, Berger eliminated the 10 basis point fee it was charging to provide administrative services to the funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a new rule that would formally permit mutual fund companies to invest in repurchase agreements (repo's) and pre-refunded bonds (pre-re's). Since the early 1980's, the SEC has not taken an official position but has informally viewed repo's and pre-re's as collateralized investments. It has done this by responding with so-called no-action letters to requests from fund companies to invest in repos and pre-re's.

Mutual fund advertisers are eschewing network television advertising during sporting events in favor of buying billboard space at and sponsoring such events, according to FRC, a mutual fund research firm in Boston.