Special Program Root Tag

The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking proceedings against former CIBC brokers, Michael Sassano and Dogan Baruh, for allegedly assisting hedge funds market time mutual funds between 1999 and at least 2003. The SEC also says that Baruh placed illegal late trades.

Power Financial will acquire Putnam Investments from Marsh & McLennan for $3.9 billion, the companies announced Thursday. The deal includes MMC’s 25% stake in private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Teri W. Anderholm has joined Pioneer Investments as chief compliance officer, reporting to Dorothy Bourassa, senior vice president and general counsel.

Pershing, a division of The Bank of New York, has added Putnam Investments to FundVest, its no-transaction-fee mutual platform of more than 1,800 funds from 160 providers.

To strengthen its presence in Japan, Citigroup will be establishing a holding company there that will serve as the overarching firm for all of its local business units and make it easier for it to acquire other companies so that it can build a retail distribution network, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Fidelity Investments plans to vote against a $18.7 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications by two private equity firms, the Associated Press reports.

Nearly half, 45%, of workers leaving a job are cashing out their 401(k)s, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a Hewitt Associates study. The rest roll it over to another qualified retirement account or leave it in the former employer’s plan.

The Pension Protection Act will dramatically change how employers automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans, a new report from Watson Wyatt Worldwide indicates.

Marsh & McLennan, parent company of Putnam Investments, hopes to announce a decision on the sale of that company, an MMC spokeswoman told Dow Jones.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has found that some mutual fund companies have not been adhering to securities lending regulations and has sent them deficiency letters, The Wall Street Journal reports.

As part of a new push to attract institutional money for pension funds and endowments, Fidelity Investments will launch a dozen new products aimed at this market over the next 18 months and expand its research analysts supporting these products, the Financial Times reports. Fees will be structured much like those of hedge funds, said Peter Smail, CEO of Fidelity’s institutional division, Pyramis.

Both Congress and the Department of Labor are working independently to strengthen oversight of 401(k) plans, most notably eliminating hidden fees, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Internal Revenue Service is reportedly scrutinizing donor-advised funds for possible abuse by individual donors, sponsoring organizations, such as endowments, and even recipients. These funds allow an investor to add money to an account from which gifts are made to their charities of choice over time. A donor may deduct the full amount of the initial contribution from his or her tax return.

BOSTON-Provisions within the Pension Protection Act that allow 401(k) plan administrators to offer investment advice to participants at first had many abuzz with the possibilities of marketing add-ons to plan sponsors and building longstanding relationships with employees.

In the race to prepare for retirement, investors and fund complexes are missing out on one big opportunity: the Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

With competition so fierce in the hedge fund industry, particularly for institutional money or to be selected for a fund-of-funds platform, hedge funds must pay greater attention to risk management, valuation and transparency, according to a Deloitte Research report, "Precautions That Pay Off: Risk Management and Valuation Practices in the Hedge Fund Industry."

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Fred Alger Management and Fred Alger & Co. will pay $40 million to settle charges that the firms allow both market timing and late trading in the Alger Fund. The SEC found that the companies failed to disclose the violations to the board of directors of the fund.

Last week, former New York Attorney General and current New York Governor Eliot Spitzer backed a new McKinsey report calling for less regulation, joining New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in doing so. It certainly marked an about-face for Spitzer, who was largely elected governor of the state due to his crusades on Wall Street.

American Century CEO, President Lyons to Retire; Thomas to Take Position

The days of people turning 65 and automatically flocking to Florida for golf, sun and early-bird specials are dwindling. In fact, Americans are taking different approaches to retirement.