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JPMorgan Worldwide Security Services, the fund services giant of New York-based JPMorgan Chase, has launched a new business unit that will offer a complete line of outsourced fund administration services to private equity firms and institutional limited partners.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed their final legal briefs last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals, shedding some light on how each camp will argue their side of the independent chairman rule when the case's oral proceedings begin next year.

NEW YORK - Don't tell James Swanson there's a recession brewing.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an order instituting administrative proceedings pursuant to a section of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, imposing remedial actions against Kraig L. Kibble, the former director of operations for National Clearing Corp., for permitting market timing and late trading.

Although all's been quiet on the Social Security front lately, the Republican Party might be planning to push forward reform that would likely include President Bush's controversial private accounts, according to the National Post in Washington.

The NASD has fined Ameriprise Financial $500,000 for failure to properly supervise the sale of 529 college savings plans. NASD found that Ameriprise advisers failed to tell clients about the tax deductions they could have claimed by investing in 529s in their home state, and so, it has also ordered it to pay another $750,000 to compensate investors for the savings they would have realized.

Morningstar's earnings surged 83% in the third quarter to $7.5 million, up from $4.1 million a year earlier, driven by strong sales in investment advice, the company said. The company was able to benefit from the 2003 investment research settlement, which required 10 Wall Street investment houses to hire outside research companies for client information. Since then, six of the 10 houses, including Morgan Stanley, have hired Morningstar.

Reserve Recruits Ledford To Head up Investments

Separately managed accounts are poised for new growth, regardless of the fact that only one in five investors is taking advantage of their benefits, such as tax optimization and account customization, a recent survey of financial advisers and individual investors by Citigroup Asset Management found. Citigroup, based in Stamford, Conn., surveyed 400 advisers in June and July and 505 investors in July and August.

In the wake of the damage caused by this summer's Hurricane Katrina, at least two fund advisors, ING Funds and The Reserve Funds, have been providing relief to victims in the form of direct, albeit temporary, fee waivers.

After squabbling over the terms for weeks, the Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that will require U.S. firms that have defined benefit pensions to increase contributions to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and set aside more money for retirees, according to MarketWatch.com.

JP Morgan Funds, the mutual fund arm of JP Morgan Asset Management, has launched a tax-exempt fixed income fund called the JP Morgan Tax Aware Real Return Fund, which aims to maximize after-tax inflation protected returns. This is done through investing in an inflation-linked and tax-exempt securities portfolio. Deepa Majmudar and Richard Taormina manage the fund.

A Merrill Lynch survey of 290 managers found that 17% of asset allocators are planning to increase their exposure to U.S. equities, MarketWatch reports. The survey participants manage a total of $945 billion in assets.

Amber Partners Ltd has launched a certification process for hedge fund operational capabilities. The certification process has thus far awarded 11 certifications, according to HedgeWorld News.

Hedge fund industry giants unhappy with the Security and Exchange Commission's manager registration rule are imposing lock-ups of investors' money, for two years or more, Lipper reports. The registration rule goes into effect on Feb. 1, 2006,

The results of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 2005 Global Offshoring Study are in, and they indicate that many financial services companies are not committed enough to offshoring, and therefore do not receive the maximum return ratio that could have been gained from the operation.

Charles Schwab has announced that it is doing away with account service fees on retail defined contribution retirement plans for the self employed and small business owners to encourage them to take advantage of the retirement plan options that are available to them. The plans include individual 401(k) plans, 403(b)(7) plans, Qualified Retirement Plans, Keogh plans, SEP-IRAs, and Simple IRAs. The fee elimination does not pertain to any retirement account services that Schwab offers.

State Street Global Advisors announced Wednesday it has launched nine new exchange-traded funds: the SPDR Dividend ETF, along with eight under the streetTRACKS name, which include three based on indexes from Keefe, Bruyette and Woods and five tracking Dow Jones Wilshire indices. The SPDR Dividend ETF tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. The funds began trading on the American Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Many retirees, as well as those preparing for retirement, are overestimating their retirement assets, MainStay Investments 2005 Across Generations Retirement Income Survey found. The survey polled 1,209 middle-income and high-net-worth Americans who are of retirement age or just about to retire.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer had been temporarily defeated by a recent ruling that prevents him from suing American Funds, the Los Angeles Times reports.