Special Program Root Tag

After a meeting with the treasurer of North Carolina where he discovered that condos and hotels saturate the East Coast, AIG founder Michael Lee-Chin realized that the upcoming wave of retiring Baby Boomers is likely to move further south, to the Caribbean, which should spur an economic boom, The Globe and Mail reports.

While getting their employees to participate in the 401(k) plan continues to be a concern of sponsors, they are increasingly interested in making sure that these employees invest their money wisely, according to a plan sponsor survey by Hewitt Associates.

It's been four years since Noreen Harrington has appeared on the scene, but she recently spoke before an industry group on why she blew the whistle on the market timing and late trading at Canary Capital, setting off the shocking scandal that rocked the fund industry, cost it $5 billion in fines and nearly tarnished its reputation forever.

Legg Mason posted very strong returns in the third quarter, but they were marred by poor fund performance and $9.6 billion in net redemptions from its stock funds, Bloomberg reports.

Pioneer Investments is planning to open an office in China to take advantage of the August extension of rules in the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme allowing Chinese investors to invest in foreign stocks and equity-linked structured products, Reuters reports. Previously, QDII only permitted overseas investments in money market funds and bonds.

In its annual survey of 1,000 401(k) and profit-sharing plans, the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America found that 41% of plans had automatic enrollment during the 2006 plan year.

Although money market funds are required to only hold short-term paper with “minimal credit risks,” a number of large funds have exposure to subprime loans through offshore structured investment vehicles (SIVs), Fortune reports.

With two bills already introduced in the House and one pending in the Senate that would require 401(k) fee disclosure, coupled with the Department of Labor’s interest in the matter and the cooperation of so many American businesses, fund companies can definitely expect to be hit with this new rule, workforce.com reports.

The Department of Labor has decided not to include stable-value funds as one of its recommended default options for 401(k) plans under the Pension Protection Act. Instead, the DOL is advocating balanced funds, lifecycle funds and a professionally managed, diversified portfolio as the default choices.

LAS VEGAS-Fund companies are using new Web 2.0 technologies and customer relationship management (CRM) software to leverage relationships with financial advisers, according to experts at The National Investment Company Service Association Technology Summit 2007 last week.

WASHINGTON-The Securities and Exchange Commission is interested in reducing mutual fund operational risk, improving disclosure and helping boards better assess soft dollars, according to Andrew J. Donohue, director of the division of investment management.

WASHINGTON-The offshoring of complex, "knowledge-based" functions, coupled with the explosion of wealth and urbanization in emerging markets, demands that fund companies go truly global. That means not only increasing outsourcing but also offering products in the far reaches of the globe.

It's been four years since Noreen Harrington has appeared on the scene, but she recently spoke before an industry group on why she blew the whistle on the market timing and late trading at Canary Capital, setting off the shocking scandal that rocked the fund industry, cost it $5 billion in fines and nearly tarnished its reputation forever.

Noyes Joins Diversified Investment Advisors as VP

Mass. Investigating Failed Bear Stearns Hedge Funds

Earlier this month, Nasdaq launched its official entry into the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listing competition by rolling out its official, proprietary ETF marketplace.

As the asset management industry undergoes a period of restructuring and realignment, independence is emerging as an important strategic asset when it comes to gathering assets, building a brand and attracting and retaining employees.

With buy-side firms turning to increasingly complex instruments, embracing independent research and beginning to aggregate information through open-system, web-based tools-technology spending to support research is set to go through the roof.

Franklin Templeton reported third-quarter profits of $426.9 million, or $1.76 a share, compared with $381.7 million, or $1.49 a share, in the year earlier period, representing a 14% increase, MartketWatch reports. Analysts had expected Franklin to earn $462.1 million.

Janus reported third quarter net income of $12.2 million, or 7 cents a share, down from $29.5 million, or 25 cents a share in the third quarter of 2006, MarketWatch reports. Janus took a charge in the quarter for selling its unprofitable printing business, Rapid Solutions Group, which lost $38.6 million during the quarter.