Regulation

Alliance Suspends Two in Fund Timing Investigation

Hedge funds have long been dampened by the perpetual rain cloud of suspicion looming overhead, but several in the industry see regulators' proposals last week requiring advisors to register as investment advisors with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a welcome ray of sunshine. Some even likened the proposals to a symbolic "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."

The winds of change are sweeping the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as federal regulators look to overhaul the world's biggest marketplace.

Industry-wide late processing of mutual fund trades has some in the industry worried. The practice is commonplace and perfectly legal, so why the concern?

Ahhh, there's nothing like a good scandal to fuel additional prospectus disclosures being pushed out to financial advisers and investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new rule requiring mutual fund companies to provide more balanced information in their advertisements when promoting fund performance.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Compliance automation is necessary in this day and age, but it's no way to shrink the bottom line, said experts speaking on the Investment Company Institute's Tax and Accounting Conference panel on using technology for compliance and disclosure.

BoA Broker Faces 25 Years In Prison in Canary Caper

ORLANDO, Fla. - As New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer continues to focus on fund executives who have broken the oldest rules in the books, others in the industry gathered at the Investment Company Institute's Tax and Accounting Conference here last week to try and figure out how to comply with some of the newer regulations.

Bank of America has been busy doing damage control in the wake of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's probe into its and four other fund companies' trading policies. The bank has fired Robert Gordon, director of mutual funds, and two other top salespeople named in Spitzer's complaint, including Theodore C. Sihpol III, a broker who worked in BoA's New York office for high-net-worth clients, and Charles Bryceland, head of brokerage and private banking. Broker Mike Tierney and sales supervisor Kathy Tubiolo have also been let go. Rich DeMartini, head of asset management and also named in Spitzer's suit, had not lost his job as of press time.