Regulation

Of the 14 regulations that came out of the mutual fund trading scandal, the two most important were the creation of a chief compliance officer and the requirement that three-quarters of a fund's board of directors, including its chairman, be independent.

Four years after securities regulators sued five former brokers at Prudential Securities for extensive improper mutual fund trading, Justin Ficken, never considered the most notorious trader in the scandal, is facing the largest monetary penalty out of everyone, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has revised its examination hotline system, at 202-551-EXAM, following a 38-page Government Accountability Office study analyzing its examination procedures.

Of the 14 regulations that came out of the mutual fund trading scandal, the two most important were the creation of a chief compliance officer and the requirement that three-quarters of a fund's board of directors, including its chairman, be independent.

Full-page newspaper ads or mailed invitations hyping financial seminars for seniors often are dubbed "educational" and "workshops."

When Peter Scannell appeared before Congress to testify about market timing at Putnam Investments, he hardly appeared the picture of a valiant hero. Scannell was somewhat incoherent, his written testimony riddled with misspellings, according to one of our reporters who was there.

Three former top executives at mutual fund advisory and broker/dealer firm Mutuals.com of Dallas, are reportedly in settlement negotiations with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York over criminal securities and wire fraud charges dating back three years.

When Peter Scannell appeared before Congress to testify about market timing at Putnam Investments, he hardly appeared the picture of a valiant hero. Scannell was somewhat incoherent, his written testimony riddled with misspellings, according to one of our reporters who was there.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled its civil lawsuit against hedge fund Durus Capital Management and its principal, Scott R. Sacane, on fraud charges. The judgment includes injunctions against future violations of the federal securities laws.

BISYS Fund Services may be all but history now with various servicing units having been parceled out to other acquiring firms. But troubles are still brewing among at least some of the 27 mutual fund clients that the firm had questionable distribution arrangements with dating back to the 1990s. And now, fund advisors are opening their wallets in an effort to make investors whole.