Money Management Executive Latest News

Credit card companies commonly offer cash rewards and other prizes to encourage the use of their cards.

MFS of Boston is the latest fund adviser to lay the groundwork to secure a portion of the almost $34 billion Chilean pension fund market.

Mutual fund companies and the SEC are watching developments at General American Life Insurance Company of St. Louis, Mo. A handful of fund companies, including OppenheimerFunds of New York, Federated Investors of Pittsburgh, Northern Trust Corp. of Chicago and Alliance Capital Management LP of New York, hold in their money market funds, short-term funding agreements issued by General American. The firm was placed under the supervision of Missouri insurance regulators Aug. 11. Representatives of the funds said they expect their investments will be repaid. "It's illiquidity, not insolvency," said J.T. Tuskan, a spokesperson for Federated. The SEC is monitoring the situation, a spokesperson said.

The Strong Funds is acquiring a small Midwest discount broker/dealer and plans, at the same time, to create its own online brokerage. Strong Capital Management of Menomonee Falls, Wis., announced Aug. 12 that it is acquiring discount broker Ziegler Thrift Trading (ZTT).

Delaware Investments of Philadelphia believes that there is an appetite for institutional funds in defined contribution plans and has created a new 401(k) product that offers numerous institutional products to plan sponsors and participants.

Credit Suisse First Boston of New York and Tremont Advisors of Rye, N.Y. are teaming up to create a series of hedge fund indexes and products to go along with them.

John Hancock Funds of Boston wants to reclassify its real estate fund as a sector fund. The fund's directors are asking shareholders to approve a change that would move the fund from the growth and income category, according to a preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC Aug. 13. The proposal does not propose a change in investment strategy. If shareholders approve the change, John Hancock plans to offer the real estate fund in a consolidated prospectus which includes all John Hancock sector funds. John Hancock believes including the real estate fund in the consolidated prospectus will increase sales, according to the filing. A vote on the change is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Eaton Vance Corp. of Boston reported diluted earnings per share of $0.70 in the third quarter of fiscal 1999, which ended July 31, up from diluted earnings per share of $0.36 in the third quarter of fiscal 1998. The earnings include a net gain resulting from the sale of three real estate properties and other investments valued at $7 million, or $0.11 per share. The company also adjusted the amortization period of its deferred sales commission assets for certain of its mutual funds in order to better match amortization expenses with projected distribution fee income. This resulted in an increase in amortization expense of $6.8 million, or ($0.11) per share.

J. & W. Seligman & Co. of New York is planning to offer four new mutual funds. The funds - the Seligman Time Horizon 30, Time Horizon 20, Time Horizon 10 and Harvester funds - are asset allocation funds. Seligman described its plans in a registration statement filed with the SEC Aug. 13.

Mutual fund wrap account assets were up 47 percent in 1998, primarily due to investors' growing interest in investment advice, reported Cerulli Associates of Boston. Cerulli expects mutual fund wrap accounts to grow at an annual rate of 25 percent to 35 percent over the next five years.