Special Program Root Tag

Phillip Goldstein, the hedge fund manager and self-professed shareholder activist and partner of Bulldog Investors of Pleasantville, N.Y., is set to duke it out again with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a battle that could eventually lead all the way to the Supreme Court.

The recent performance-fee settlements between five fund companies and the Securities and Exchange Commission will probably not shake investor confidence, but, shareholder advocates worry, they might rattle the companies considering adopting the more complicated model.

Less than a third of mutual fund companies are providing financial advisers with useful wealth transfer tools and education-causing both to miss out on a potentially huge market due to the transfer of much of the nation's retirement wealth from pensions to defined contribution plans.

Bank of America Investment Advisors, adviser to the Liberty All-Star Funds, has agreed to sell the two portfolios to ALPS Advisers. The portfolios are related closed-end equity funds-the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, which had $1.2 billion of assets under management as of June 30, and the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, which had $150 million under management. The deal is expected to close by year-end; its price was not disclosed.

American Century Investments will acquire Kopp Investment Advisors' two mutual funds, which have a value of $300 million to $350 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kopp said it agreed to the sale so that it can focus on its core competency: private account management.

O'Grady Joins MassMutual As Senior Vice President

Fund executives and portfolio managers are sounding off again in the latest round of annual and semi-annual reports recently filed for the period ended June. While many foresee a moderate economic slowdown, some fear a bear market is on the way.

Yet another consolidation has occurred in the competitive college savings plan market. South Dakota, the state best known for Mount Rushmore, is the latest to see its two plans merge into a single plan.

JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has hired Mark Kelley as senior vice president in charge of heading and expanding JPMorgan Fund Services, which provides custody, accounting, investment operations and administrative services for fund companies.

MassMutual has had tremendous success boosting 401(k) participation by supplying workers with pocket PCs to make on-the-spot selections during enrollment meetings, FinanceTech reports.

ProFunds, which currently offers 12 exchange-traded funds, plans to offer 66 more, The Wall Street Journal reports. The offerings would increase the total number of ETFs offered in the U.S. by 25%.

As the Securities and Exchange Commission sifts through more than 300 comment letters on its mutual fund independent board rule, some are speculating that the Commission might capitulate by requiring only two-thirds, not 75%, of the board be independent, Dow Jones reports. And there is a slight chance the SEC might permit funds to determine for themselves if the chairman should be independent, as well.

American Century Investments announced plans Wednesday to acquire Kopp Investment Advisors' two mutual funds, which have a value of $300 million to $350 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kopp said it agreed to the sale so that it can focus on its core competency, private account management.

After surveying 1,000 small business owners with no more than 20 employees about 401(k)s, Fidelity Investments found that 43% don't want to offer them because they mistakenly think they are too expensive.

Due to decreased fears about recession and inflation, mutual fund managers' expectations for strong performance by emerging markets stocks has risen, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing the monthly Merrill Lynch fund managers survey.

Alternative assets around the world reached $1.26 trillion in 2005, up 20% from the previous year, according to data from Watson Wyatt, InvestorsOffshore.com reports.

A panel of academics and executives, including those from mutual fund companies, has been formed to assess the impact of regulation on the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, The New York Times reports.

NEW YORK - Breaking up the investigative logjam at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations may take dismantling the office itself, said SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins Wednesday.

Financial planners working with clients on estate planning have had a new challenge put to them in recent years: how to advise a family where one or both parents have remarried and have children by both marriages, sometimes called a "split-level" family, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Focused Investors has selected Mellon Financial to provide custody and back-office services, including accounting and monthly fund valuations, performance measurement and client statements.