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Morningstar is buying Ibbotson Associates for $83 million in cash. Morningstar expects to get $10 million in cash tax benefits as a result of the cancellation of Ibbotson stock options, so in reality, the fund tracker is buying Ibbotson for $73 million.

John Hancock Funds, a unit of Manulife Financial, is transferring 29 internally managed mutual funds to its sister company, Sovereign Asset Management, the Boston Business Journal reports.

Abunassar Succeeds Parker As Allegiant Chief Exec

by Hannah Glover

What a difference a single word makes! A one-word error in the investment advisory contract between the $1 billion Highland Floating Rate Advantage Fund and Highland Capital Management of Dallas is causing a major headache for the niche registered investment advisor, which as of Sept. 30 managed a total of $18 billion in assets.

Expecting the economy and corporate profits to continue to do well next year, although at a slower pace than in 2005, Standard & Poor's of New York is predicting that the S&P 500 will return 8.5% in 2006 and that the gross domestic product will rise 3.4%.

As mutual funds prepare reports to their boards on the procedures they have implemented for preventing future regulatory infractions, the Investment Company Institute released guidelines yesterday to help fund firms evaluate how well they are complying with rules put into place by the Securities and Exchange Commission following the recent trading scandals, Dow Jones Newswire reports.

Kinetics Advisers has selected SEI Investments to oversee an offshore hedge fund, as the new regulatory situation has forced many managers to opt for larger administrators, the companies jointly announced.

Charles Schwab announced today that it would be bidding adieu to NYSE, as its new home will be on the Nasdaq, the Associated Press reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to require that some companies file financial reports earlier than the current deadline. At the same time, the SEC pushed back putting the new rule into play for large firms, to the early part of 2007, when most of the 2006 annual reports are issued, Reuters reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to require that some companies file financial reports earlier than the current deadline. At the same time, the SEC pushed back putting the new rule into play for large firms, to the early part of 2007, when most of the 2006 annual reports are issued, Reuters reports.

Bear Stearns has announced that it has presented an offer of settlement to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange to bring to a close their recent investigations into mutual fund late trading at the firm's clearing services unit. The firm will have to pay $250 million and retain independent consultants to analyze its mutual fund trading and global clearing operations.

More participants in employment-based retirement plans are rolling over their lump-sum distributions into another account upon leaving a job, and fewer are spending those distributions on new consumption, according to a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

James Investment Research Inc, with $1.35 billion in assets under management, recommends that financial advisers and money managers urge investors to focus on high-value, long-term investment stocks in the upcoming volatile year, the Dayton Daily News reports.

A Merrill Lynch survey reveals that money managers are becoming more hopeful when it comes to domestic stocks - a region they have been shying away from for the past two years or so - because of forecasts for economic and profit growth, Bloomberg News reports.

Due to the recent regulator prods, many mutual fund companies have began to disclose more information, like how much managers invest in their funds and a clear breakdown of fund expenses. Thus, a number of mutual fund service providers and regulators have launched new online tools to help investors sort through the information, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Many mutual funds are lowering their fees, a practice that began as a maneuver to try and regain investors' trust following the trading scandals of 2003, The Wall Street Journal reports.

After suffering a miserable October, hedge funds crawled back to positive territory last month, gaining 0.07% on average, HedgeWorld.com reports.

OppenheimerFunds is adding a Roth option for its 410(k) and 403(b) retirement programs, effective Jan. 1, the company announced this week.

Rydex Investments has launched the Euro Currency Trust, an ETF that will track the price of the euro. Each share of the ETF will represent 100 euros as well as accrued interest. The ETF will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and charge an annual fee of 0.4%.