Special Program Root Tag

To meet parents' growing concerns over the soaring costs of college, as well as to distinguish themselves from competitors, asset management firms that manage 529 state college savings plan assets are increasingly pairing up with retailers or credit card companies to offer rebates toward 529 balances, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Although it's the world's top-selling fund manager on the retail side, Los Angeles-based Capital Group has suffered institutional outflows of more than $40 billion, The Financial Times reports.

Capital Research & Management, the asset management unit of Los Angeles-based Capital Group, has sold 48.3 million shares of Time Warner.

There's certainly no love lost between Wall Street and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, but it appears the would-be governor can add former General Electric CEO Jack Welch to the "do-not-call" list for campaign contributions.

On the heels of merger rumors between Morgan Stanley and money manager BlackRock, Merrill Lynch is now said to be in the final stages of similar discussions with the fixed income specialist.

American Funds has overtaken competitors Vanguard and Fidelity to become the largest mutual fund manager in the country, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Goldman Sachs has come up with a new kind of hedge fund, one that offers investors protection in the event of an economic decline, according to The Globe & Mail.

Mutual funds are playing the name game more than ever these days, and while marketing or mergers and acquisitions compel most changes, sometimes it's a sign of a more significant shift.

Still wobbly from aggressive trading just a few days earlier, the world's industrial and precious metals market was rocked further by a major sell-off on Friday, according to Reuters.

TIAA-CREF, known for providing pensions to teachers and college professors, is struggling when it comes to helping people save for higher education, according to Dow Jones. In 2003, the financial service provider lost its 529 contract with New York State, and last year, it lost Missouri.

In an agreement that further reflects the popularity of outsourcing non-core business, SEI Investments will provide mutual fund administration, accounting, distribution and compliance services to Westwood Holdings Group.

Fidelity Investments Japan's new president is very optimistic that market will surpass the United Kingdom to become Fidelity's No. 1 overseas market by 2010. Thomas Balk told Dow Jones he hopes the triple assets from three trillion yen to 10 trillion yen by 2010.

In a move that further reflects the changing face of Janus Capital, the Denver firm recently increased its stake in its quantitative equities division, Intech.

Maybe it's that rugged American individualism. Or maybe it's fallout from watching pensions peter out, Social Security shrivel and the prospects for their golden years begin to look rather glum. More and more workers are choosing individual retirement accounts (IRAs) as their retirement planning tool of choice over 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

In an unusual move, the board of directors that oversees the 26 proprietary, non-ETF mutual funds managed by State Street Global Advisors Funds Management (SSgA) of Boston, has adopted a two-year rotating term for its independent trustees to take the chairperson's role for a spin. SSgA is a wholly owned investment advisory subsidiary of State Street Corp.

Fund scandals and the recent probes in the financial industry have caused retirement plan fees to decrease since 2003, and in 2006 they will continue on their descending path, according to sister publication Employee Benefit News. The pressure of competition has forced many funds to lower their management fees, and this, as well as regulatory scrutiny and consolidation in the financial industry, has contributed to the fact that retirement plan fees have also declined.

Executives at mutual fund companies increased their contributions to Washington politicians in 2004 to $1.3 million, data from opensecrets.com shows. That's a significant increase from the last presidential election year, in 2000, when they donated $391,938. And so far, in the 2006 cycle, employees at the top 10 mutual fund companies have donated $257,297.

Wilmington CEO Named To Federal Advisory Council

As mutual fund firms prepare to meet the costly demands of the Securities and Exchange Commission's new redemption rule, known officially as Rule 22c-2, they're also discovering just how extensively it will impact their everyday business routines.

School is in session for those shopping for the best college-savings plan.