Special Program Root Tag

More judges are rejecting lawsuits charging that 401(k)s that offer company shares without warning employees of the risks of investing in company stock, on the reasoning that the losses of a few investors cannot be blamed on an entire retirement plan, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The NASD fined Chase Investment Services $150,00 and ordered it to repay $140,262 to investors for allowing one of its hedge fund clients to market time 19 mutual funds between at least February 2002 and August 2003.

Industry experts say that managers of some struggling funds should be given the benefit of the doubt, even if their sector is booming and they're seemingly stuck.

One of the more dramatic industry changes in recent years is the way that individual investors choose their investment managers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As further evidence of just how much the competitive landscape has changed over the past few years, American Funds, one of the nation's oldest mutual fund families and the money manager for Los Angeles-based Capital Group, has three of its funds listed as the industry's top five.

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

Morningstar will buy asset allocation expert Ibbotson Associates for $83 million in cash.

As 2005 draws to a close, mutual fund investors appear to be favoring aggressive growth stocks, MarketWatch reported.

US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker last week said that hedge funds would play an important role in consolidating the airline industry, Reuters reports.

Taking a cue from hedge funds, more and more mutual funds are investing in PIPEs, or private investment in public entities, a recent report from Forbes.com indicates.

The best-laid plans of Mellon Financial just aren't good enough when it comes to returns, analysts argue, but Martin G. McGuinn, Mellon's chief executive, claims his company just needs more time to grow.

Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington on Friday took lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission to task over some language included in the regulator's controversial hedge fund registration rule and it might be good news for the plaintiff.

Driven by 401(k) contributions and the increasing popularity of exchange-traded funds, stock sales of major mutual fund companies have significantly outpaced those of more traditional stocks and bonds, according to a report from USA Today.

Lawmakers in Washington this week are expected to tackle a key piece of pension reform legislation, known as the Pension Protection Act of 2005, which could significantly impact the financial services industry.

NEW YORK - Globalization will continue to offer opportunities for investors, fund managers and American multinational corporations next year, according to a panel of money managers who offered their outlook for 2006 at a Millennium Media Consulting press briefing last week.

The bear market and scandal have left a scar on American investors, as many seem to be following a trend of averting risk - which is understandable considering the amount of wealth that vaporized - and investing in a cluster of conservative funds that have been attracting approximately 50% of the total net flows.

Due to a new requirement for consistent presentation of performance data in broker/dealers' and municipal securities dealers' ads for 529 college savings plans, picking a college plan has just become a little bit easier.

The NASD has launched a streamlined version of its online tool that allows investors to instantly compare the expenses of up to three mutual funds. The brokerage industry regulator hopes the enhancements will address criticisms of the older version.

AllianceBernstein Hires Decker as Vice President

Call it a smart business move with a bit of divine intervention. The financial services arm of the Southern Baptist Convention of Nashville, Tenn., has rebranded its operation, including its $8.5 billion mutual fund complex, under the GuideStone Financial Resources moniker and is reaching out to serve the financial needs of a broader audience of Christian evangelical colleges, schools, hospitals, churches and other organizations.