MFMarketnews.com is keeping abreast of the industry's latest developments with postings twice a day. If you didn't log on last week here are some Web exclusives you missed:
* Morgan Stanley has partnered with Fidelity Investments Institutional Services to launch the Morgan Stanley Retirement Connection -- a 401(k) plan for businesses with plan assets of at least $5 million -- to be sold through its network of 13,500 advisers.
* Phoenix Investment Partners cut 14%, or 16 positions, from its sales and marketing division, a company representative said. The reductions were made in the sales force devoted to its private client group, a retail line sold through financial planners to high-net-worth individuals.
* Citizens Advisers, the Portsmouth, N.H., advisor to a group of eight social funds, cut 15 positions from its ranks, the company announced last week. The cuts were made company wide, but most of the positions affected were in non-investment related areas, the firm said. A company representative could not be reached for comment.
* Franklin Resources of San Mateo, Calif. will cut the salaries of its employees who earn more than $200,000 a year by 10% and will cut the salaries of employees who earn less than $200,000 by 5%. The cuts were first reported by company officials during a conference call with investors late last month.
* The West Virginia State Treasurer's Office has preliminarily selected The Hartford Financial Services Group to sponsor its 529 college savings plan, said Charles Bockway, deputy treasurer of the Treasurer's Office. The West Virginia State Treasurer's Office expects to launch the plan sometime in the first quarter of 2002.
