Regulation

John Capone, the chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is leaving the SEC March 30 to become a partner with Arthur Andersen of Chicago, he said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Market volatility has quickly diminished some funds' returns and may require those funds to advertise more recent performance data than that of the most recent quarter's, said Doug Scheidt, associate director of the division of investment management of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fund Democracy, a shareholder advocacy group in Chevy Chase, Md., wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to tighten its policy on granting funds exemptions that remove shareholders' rights to vote on changes of sub-advisers and sub-adviser fees.

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Insurance industry products and variable annuities in particular have always been targets for government revenue-raising measures due to their tax-preferred treatment, according to Stephen Zimmerman, a partner at Dykema Gossett PLLC of Washington D.C. As the new administration settles in, a panel of lawyers discussed legislative issues likely to arise that could affect the annuity industry at the National Association for Variable Annuities marketing conference held here last month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's most recent letter to industry CFO's warns investment advisers and managers against falsely claiming that their performance history is in compliance with industry standards.

Sloan Financial Group of Durham, N.C. has filed a lawsuit against a former employee charging him with breach of contract, committing fraud and conspiracy, and embezzling funds while he managed The New Africa Opportunity Fund, a $120 million private equity fund that was introduced in 1997.

The U.S. House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets, insurance and government-sponsored enterprises, chaired by Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), will review securities-disclosure rules this year, Baker announced last month. Among those to be reviewed will be the "Regulation Fair Disclosure" that the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted last year.

AIM Management Group, the Canadian operations of AIM Funds of Houston, announced that it has settled out of court a lawsuit it brought against a former employee, Derek Webb, and C.I. Fund Management of Toronto, according to a joint release from the companies. The terms of the settlement are confidential, the companies said.

Mutual fund shareholders are increasingly wary about taxes on their investments and say that taxes are an important investment consideration, according to a recent survey.

President Bush has designated Laura Unger acting chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing Arthur Levitt who stepped down Feb. 9.