Money Management Executive Latest News

Pilgrim Baxter & Associates didn't have to air any of its dirty laundry last week in Massachusetts Superior Court.

John Turner, chairman of ReliaStar Financial Corp. of Minneapolis, said his company may purchase additional mutual fund companies besides Pilgrim Capital Corp. of Phoenix.

Scudder Defined Contribution Services, a division of Scudder Kemper Investments of Boston, has linked up with Financial Engines, an Internet-based advisory firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., to deliver advice to retirement plan participants.

The National Investment Company Services Association of Wellesley Hills, Mass., and The New England College of Finance of Boston have jointly developed an undergraduate-level course on mutual funds designed for new hires.

The Oakmark Family of Funds managed by Harris Associates of Chicago is adding a two percent redemption fee to discourage short-term trading for some of its mutual funds. The redemption fee will kick in on August 16 on shares redeemed on five of the fund family's funds within 90 days of their purchase.

In most cases, performance fees for mutual funds are not worth the headache. That appears to be the conclusion of the majority of mutual fund firms as they overwhelmingly reject the idea of linking management fees to fund performance.

The mutual fund industry is now mulling the implications of the recent courtroom encounter between money manager Louis Navellier, of Navellier Investment Management of Reno, Nev., and three independent fund trustees.

Fixed-income mutual fund companies may soon have their yields deflated if a proposed rule from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) of New York becomes effective. Although the AICPA claims it is still exploring the issue, industry insiders say the AICPA has already decided to enforce the rule and is awaiting an endorsement from the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Inflows into equity funds topped $20 billion in June, the largest monthly inflow into these funds in the past year, according to Strategic Insight, a mutual fund research and consulting firm in New York. For the second quarter, equity cash inflows exceeded $51 billion, 76 percent above first quarter results, Strategic Insight also reported.

T. Rowe Price Associates of Baltimore last week reported second quarter earnings of $246 million, up 11 percent from the second quarter of 1998. Net income in the quarter rose 20 percent to $53.7 million from $44.9 million a year earlier. The company also attracted $10 billion in additional assets in the quarter, closing the quarter with a total of $159.2 billion.