Special Program Root Tag

TCW Galileo Funds' board of directors has announced that it has decided to change the name of its mutual fund division to the TCW Funds, starting Feb. 22.

Iqon Financial Inc. clients who invested in Portus Alternative Asset Management will be reimbursed the full amount of their capital investment, as a result of the allegations made by the Ontario Securities Commission that Portus violated a number of securities laws back in February of last year, resulting in the collapse of the Canadian hedge fund, according to the Toronto Star.

After the recent events at Japan-based Livedoor Co., Japanese investors have been avoiding equities, according to Dow Jones. Equity fund shareholders took more money out of Japan than they put in, overturning a bullish trend.

Hedge fund managers are forecasting that their compliance costs will increase even more this year, according to the Financial Times.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance is putting pressure on its Babson Capital Management subsidiary to sell its wealth management unit, bundling its large-cap growth mutual funds into the package, the Boston Business Journal reports.

The Scudder Funds' investment advisor, Deutsche Investment Management Americas, is asking shareholders to approve a host of changes among the funds, most notably renaming the funds DWS Funds, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing SEC filings. DWS is the brand Deutsche uses for its funds in Europe.

Regulation of the securities industry is a never-ending story, and Securities and Exchange Commission's Chairman Christopher Cox is like the energizer bunny. He keeps 'going and going and going,' according to an interview that Investment Company Institute President Paul Schott Stevens had with sister publication Securities Industry News.

What mutual fund investors say they expect from fund managers and how those managers invest aren't always in synch, according to a report released by Ceres, an environmentally minded coalition of financial and public interest groups.

The deadline for hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission is today, and while some investment advisors plan to skirt the rule through loopholes, others think it might be just the sort of public relations ploy they've needed.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a benign tumor of the thymus yesterday. He is expected to be hospitalized just a few days and to make a full recovery.

Deutsche Bank Asset Management, the asset management unit of German banking colossus Deutsche Bank AG, has submitted proxy statements to the Security and Exchange Commission that outline the measures it plans to take in seeking a settlement with the regulator.

Starting in May, Merrill Lynch will market its mutual funds under the name Princeton Portfolio Research & Management. The company hopes the name change will appeal more to third party advisers, who were turned off by selling products named after their competitor.

According to a new study, three quarters of all mutual fund investors want their funds to "ask questions about the potential impact of global warming on the companies in which they are investing."

A rising stock market and talk of merger and acquisition activity are driving up the share prices of many publicly traded mutual fund companies.

Diversified Management Resources, best known as an executive search firm, will merge next month with The Drachman Group, a marketing communications firm.

With the boom in real estate investment trusts and energy stocks, it would stand to reason that an investor in a fund specializing in either sector would be sitting pretty. But contrary to reason, that isn't always the case, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Chicago-based Ariel Mutual Funds has added two independent trustees to its board, ensuring compliance with new Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

The American College of Surgeons plans to slice into the financial world, launching its own mutual fund, according to Reuters.

With fewer than 1,400 accounts and a mere $16.8 million in assets, Wyoming's 529 plan may shut down, Dow Jones reports. If that were to happen, the state is expected to shift those accounts to Colorado's college savings plan. Wyoming's state legislature is expected to vote on the matter in February or March.

The top executive at Marsh & McLennan, the parent company to Putnam Investments, said the world's largest insurance broker has no intention of shedding its struggling fund group.