Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange last week fined Fidelity Brokerage Services $2 million for destroying or altering records in at least 21 of its 88 branch offices.

Janus Capital has had to withstand some face slapping from investors while it attempts to cure its ailing business, but it may soon run out of available cheek space as the hits keep coming.

Franklin Advisers wiped away some of the muck from the mutual fund trading scandal last week after agreeing to a $50 million settlement with regulators for its involvement in inappropriate trading of mutual fund shares.

Evergreen Funds confirmed that the SEC is investigating potential market timing at the firm and may bring an enforcement against it. The firm's parent company, Wachovia, first made the indication that a former employee as well as a portfolio manager may be charged in an SEC filing. An Evergreen spokeswoman indicated the firm intends to tell the SEC why enforcement action shouldn't be taken.

Following the Securities and Exchange Commission's new requirements regarding mutual fund boards and independent trustees, the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, at the request of SEC Chairman William Donaldson, has weighed in with its own set of 32 best practices. Donaldson made the request in November, just 2-1/2 months after the fund scandal broke, at a point when the SEC was finalizing a flurry of regulatory proposals to enhance board members' independence to stem further abusive activities.

The Ontario Securities Commission is planning to bring market-timing charges against a number of mutual fund companies in Canada within the next few weeks, it was reported last week. But the charges are likely to be focused on market-timing abuses, rather than illegal late trading.

A new bill proposed in the House would exempt up to $20,000 in annuity income from federal taxation. The Retirement Security for Life Act of 2004 proposes that 50% of annuity income, up to $20,000 annually, be free of taxes, amounting to savings up to $5,000 for someone in the 25% tax bracket.

The wait for details on the SEC's new fund independence rules is over, for last Tuesday, the Commission released its final regulations.

The days of cloak-and-dagger proxy ballots are over.

Citigroup has reportedly received a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission related to dealings at its mutual fund arm, Smith Barney. Back in November, Citigroup admitted to regulators that an agreement to erect an internal transfer-agent wing was not disclosed to the company's own mutual funds. To correct the problem, it said it would pay $17 million back to the funds.