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Morningstar reported that its second-quarter profit rose 18% to $11.2 million, or 24 cents a share, compared to $9.5 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. The company said its recent acquisitions, combined with rising demand for its financial advisory services, drove the profits.

ProShares Hires Holderith As VP, National Sales Mgr.

The stereotype that women have fewer assets and are not interested in finances is beginning to fade, and fund companies are increasingly starting to recognize the opportunity to capture this underserved niche.

To quote legendary folk singer Bob Dylan, "The times they are a-changin'."

As new competitors continue to flood the market with exchange-traded funds, established players like Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors and Vanguard are adjusting their lineups and launching products to maintain their dominant market share.

AllianceBernstein Holding and AllianceBernstein reported that preliminary assets under management increased by approximately $7 billion, or 1.1%, in the month of July to $632 billion due to positive net flows in all distribution channels and positive investment returns in Value Equity and Fixed Income services, partially offset by unfavorable investment returns in Growth Equity services.

Old Mutual Asset Management, the U.S. asset management group of Old Mutual, announced assets under management of $230.8 billion, as of June 30, 2006.

Mutual fund investors in the greater Washington/Baltimore area have a new way to invest in preserving the quality of life for local seniors and persons with physical disabilities.

Deutsche Bank has closed its Philadelphia mutual fund business and will now be running three high-yield bonds in New York, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. It will, however, continue running its private wealth management business in Philadelphia.

While large-cap growth and income stocks have been out of favor over the past few years, Stephen McKee, editor of the No-Load Mutual Fund Selections and Timing newsletter, tells MarketWatch that now might be the time to move into them.

As cases against brokerage firms for accepting directed-brokerage payments from mutual fund companies wind down, the NASD is planning to levy its first charges in a new wave of lawsuits, Dow Jones reports.

The NASD has fined Citigroup Global Markets more than $1.1 million in fines and restitution for failing to prevent more than 100 of its brokers from filing false disability claims with mutual fund companies between June 2001 and June 2002 in order to waive the contingent deferred sales charges on clients' holdings.

China's State Post Bureau will begin selling mutual funds for the first time, reports the China Daily. The bureau plans to allow approximately 2,300 outlets to serve as agents selling the Dacheng 2020 Life Cycle Fund, managed by Dacheng Fund Management.

Franklin Templeton's numbers were up last month. The firm reported preliminary month-end assets under management of $494.4 billion for the month ended July 31, 2006, compared to $490.1 billion in the preceding month and $438.7 billion in the same month a year ago.

UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance, a pioneer of health savings accounts, has begun offering its customers mutual fund investment options.

Marguerite C. Bateman, managing director of the Independent Directors Council, will join Sutherland Asbill & Brennan's financial services group on Sept. 11 as a partner. She will focus on mutual fund regulation and compliance, fund governance and best practices.

The Bank of New York's Pershing subsidiary has added William Blair Funds to its no-transaction-fee mutual fund program, FundVest. The program now offers investors access to more than 1,700 funds from 150 companies.

As it reaches its 10th year, Hartford Mutual Funds plans to expand the funds it offers to include equity mutual funds, which are currently handled by outside sub-advisor Wellington Management, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Vincent Lacroix, the former chief executive officer of Norbourg Asset Management, which went bankrupt, qualifies for a legal aid attorney, Montreal Gazette reports.

The NASD has fined four broker/dealers affiliated with ING America Insurance Holdings more than $7 million for accepting directed-brokerage payments from 10 mutual fund companies, in violation of its anti-reciprocal rule. The rule is also designed to ensure that execution of portfolio transactions is guided by the principle of "best execution" and not by other considerations.