Money Management Executive Latest News

AIM Advisors of Houston, Texas announced that shareholders of its AIM Global Trends Fund have approved proposed changes to the fund, including eliminating its fund of funds designation.

American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo. has agreed to provide a retirement planning calculator and a weekly financial advice newsletter to a web site devoted to people aged 45 to 65. Sponsored by Third Age Media of San Francisco, the web site covers a variety of issues besides money, including health, family and work.

John Story, formerly an executive vice president at Montgomery Asset Management of San Francisco, has joined X.com of Palo Alto, Calif., an Internet-based financial services company. Story will oversee the development and sales of mutual funds as president of X.com's asset management subsidiary. He will also serve as executive vice president of X.com. The company will launch its funds later this year. These will include an S&P 500 fund, a U.S. aggregate bond fund and a high-yielding money market fund.

The 59 Wall Street Funds, the small fund group of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. of New York, appears to be the first in the industry to make changes in its requirements for directors as a result of a special industry report issued in June.

Electronic commerce consultants to the mutual fund industry are questioning how Invesco Funds Management of Denver, Colo., will allow customers to open accounts online while avoiding fraud.

At a time when merger activity in the mutual fund industry has slowed, Western-Southern Enterprise, an insurance and financial services company in Cincinnati, Ohio, is increasing its mutual fund presence through acquisitions.

Small to mid-sized fund companies, concerned about their investors migrating to large mutual fund supermarkets, are providing wrap programs in order to conserve assets.

The SEC has sanctioned a Phoenix firm that frustrated a handful of closed-end funds with its controversial tactics - known as mini-tender offers - to buy fund shares from individual investors.

Safeco Corp. of Seattle, Wash. has renamed itself Safeco Life & Investments to reflect the combining of its 25 insurance and investments salespeople into one team selling both insurance and investment products, including mutual funds, annuities and variable universal life. Only property and casualty insurance will continue to be sold by a separate sales force.

Step aside S&P 500, the Wilshire 5000 is having its day.