Special Program Root Tag

As the U.S. market continues to lose some of its luster, more investors are looking to Europe for opportunities. This is occurring as the European market is going through economic unification, technology upgrades and better transparency.

Initiatives at IXIS Asset Management Advisors of Boston will not be slowing down this summer. The firm, a manager of managers with 15 affiliates in its stable, will be cutting several of its mutual funds' management fees, putting its B Share classes into permanent storage and polishing up a new brand name. But it will keep its tag line: The Name Behind the Names.

More North American investors would prevail if they diversified their retirement portfolios, according to The Globe and Mail.

The Hartford Financial Services Group promoted Daniel Andriola to chief financial officer of the institutional solutions group within its U.S. Wealth Management division.Previously, he was CFO of The Hartford’s Life’s private placement business.

SBI Asset Management, in partnership with the State Bank of India’s SBI Funds Management subsidiary, has launched the SBI India & Vietnam Stock Fund.The two parties reached an earlier agreement last August to establish a $100 million venture capital fund to invest in private companies in India. The mutual fund just announced is their second joint venture.

ABN AMRO is planning to launch the Chindia Fund, a stock mutual fund that will invest at 35% of its assets in China and 30% in India, with the rest going to stocks, debt and money market securities in other international countries, Reuters reports.Through June 13, the Shanghai stock index is up 56% year to date, and India’s BSE index is up 1.57%.

Rydex Investments, which has now informed employees that it is on the block, is expected to announce a sale any day now, for a price of as much as $1 billion, MarketWatch reports. Some analysts believe the price could be that high because of the high premium the market is putting on exchange-traded funds, for which Rydex is well known. However, other analysts believe the final price will be in the $800 million range.E*Trade and Invesco are said to be two of the most high-profile bidders.

Three executives of a hedge fund in Colorado have settled a civil suit for $30.6 million, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

PowerShares’ five new global exchange-traded funds began trading on the American Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Mutual Funds Against Cancer held its 13th annual “Expect Miracles” Golf Classic on June 7 at Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, Mass., followed by dinner and an awards ceremony at Waverly Oaks Golf Club. Presented by title sponsor JPMorgan Fund Services, the event attracted 380 financial executives and raised $350,000 for cancer research, which will go to the Center for Applied Cancer Sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Two asset management firms are giving it another try with the Securities and Exchange Commission to introduce actively managed exchange-traded funds, but the funds’ difference from existing enhanced index, or semi-active ETFs is only subtle, The Wall Street Journal reports. And that is exactly how they hope to win SEC approval.

Although many mutual fund companies pursue wealthy customers, they are likely to have a hard time winning them over, as the very wealthy in the U.S. prefer to invest in hedge funds, private equity and start-up companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that a second group out of a total of three groups of Pilgrim Baxter investors will soon receive $73 million. The remuneration is part of a total of $267 million in the Pilgrim Baxter fair fund, set aside to repay 384,000 investors harmed by market timing in the PBHG Funds, for which Pilgrim Baxter was the investment advisor, between June 1998 and December 2001.

A survey of 1,000 investors by Corporate Insight found that eight out of 10 expect the stock market to rise within the next 12 months, reporting an average rise of 7.2%.

With the major indexes performing so well, enhanced exchange-traded funds are having a hard time making a case for themselves, the Associated Press reports.Portfolio managers of enhanced ETFs are going to have to make some smart calls if they hope to compete against regular ETFs and index funds, which are not only offering strong performance right now but are well known for their lower fees and tax efficiencies.

Charles Schwab announced Tuesday that it is offering new, low and simplified pricing on online bond trades, charging a mere $1 per bond. In addition, the company is lowering the expenses on its tax-free bond funds from between 60 and 65 basis points to 45 and 49 basis points.

Two mutual funds that came to market on Monday raised $3.3 billion in a single day, Reuters reports. They are offerings from GF Fund Management and Fortune SGAM, a division of Societe Generale, which took in 15 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan, respectively.

Chief Executive Officer Edward “Ned” Johnson has told the firm’s adviser services division to reduce its profit margin targets

The chief executive officers of the companies listed in the S&P 500 Index earned a combined $4.16 billion in 2006, with half raking in more than $8.3 million, the Associated Press reports. Leading the pack is Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, who earned $71.7 million.

Morgan Stanley is planning to expand beyond institutional and alternative investments in Asia to offer retail mutual funds, the Financial Times reports. Specifically, the firm is looking to open offices in China, South Korea and Taiwan.