Six months after they were named as part of the opening-round, Canary Capital portion of the mutual fund scandal,
By tackling its improper trading problems internally first with an investigation, then with the firing of key executives, and later with the creation of chief compliance and chief legal officer positions Bank One improved One Group funds to the point where they "can now be evaluated on their merits," according to Morningstar analyst Dan McNeela.
The One Group funds are original pieces of New York Attorney Eliot Spitzers attack against the fund industrys credibility, though they have yet to become involved in any sort of legal action stemming from their association with Canary. Since September 2003, though, Morningstar had recommended that One Group shareholders consider selling.
Bank Ones preemption seems to be what swayed Morningstar the most in rescinding the sell recommendation. "Although industry regulators have not yet officially charged the firm with wrongdoing, One Group has taken many steps to win back investors' trust," McNeela wrote.
