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The New York Stock Exchange is fining Merrill Lynch $10 million for failing to deliver mutual fund prospectuses. Merrill failed to deliver the reports in at least 64,000 transactions for the sales of registered, open-end mutual fund securities. Merrill also failaed to deliver prospectuses in 900 transactions in 275 accounts related to auction-rate preferred stocks between January and July in 2004, NYSE charged.

NASD has fined Hantz Financial Services $675,000 and its CEO another $25,000 for fraud and misrepresentations relating to undisclosed revenue-sharing arrangement along with other violations.

SEC regulators are considering a fraud charge against Fidelity Investments that would assume that the firm's defrauding, in reference to the company's stock trader gift scandal, was unintentional, according to a Boston Globe report.

The former chief executive of OppenheimerFunds parent Mass Mutual Financial Group, Robert O'Connell, is under investigation by the SEC, according to reports. O'Connell was fired from the firm in June on grounds of misconduct.

Fidelity Investments is long used to being at the top of the ladder of success. However, the nation's No. 1 mutual fund company always sees room for improvement, especially when it comes down to money management for large institutions, an area where Fidelity could really use some improvement.

Oppenheimer Holdings is bracing for the NASD to recommend action against its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert G. Lowenthal for breakpoint neglect.

Discount broker E-Trade Financial announced Tuesday it would acquire Massachusetts-based asset manager Kobren Insight Management for an undisclosed amount.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a cease-and-desist proceeding against the Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust (UESP), but the action might be more noteworthy for the singular detail that the regulator has asserted itself in previously uncharted territory, rather than the fact that beehive state investors were bilked thousands of dollars.

Two former executives within the asset management unit of Citigroup will fight Securities and Exchange Commission charges that they siphoned nearly $100 million from mutual fund investors through a finely executed, behind-the-scenes scheme involving a questionable transfer agent setup.

There was a good reason why former Securities and Exchange Chairman William Donaldson chose as his last official act a vote to reapprove controversial mutual fund governance reforms.

The NASD last Tuesday issued its long-awaited, controversial notice to members regarding equity index annuities (EIAs), sending ripples through the annuity and brokerage industries.

In the wake of the London subway and bus bombings, top concerns among affluent Americans have shifted from the economy to terrorism, safety and security.

Mellon Promotes Graham To Regional President, Private Wealth Management

Financial advisers feeling neglected by their wholesalers over the last year are not alone.

A recent survey of the ultra-high-net-worth, as conducted by the Spectrem Group of Chicago, raises some questions and quandaries for investment advisors who are hoping to entice these wealthiest of investors.

The Principal Financial Group has put together a guide on group immediate annuities for plan sponsors. Even though almost two-thirds of employees turn to employers for planning advice at retirement, only 37% of plan sponsors offer such guidance, according to LIMRA International.

Inviva is buying the life insurance subsidiary of Utica National Insurance Group, primarily a property and casualty carrier. Utica National Life Insurance Co. (UticaLIFE) has approximately 45,000 policies that will bring $250 million in invested assets and between $2 million and $4 million in annual income to Inviva.

In order to boost production, Fidelity Investments recommends that businesses offer retirement income planning services for clients approaching retirement, based on results of a recent survey. 94% of advisers surveyed agreed that offering retirement planning services will in fact improve production for companies, and 29% expect their business to at least double.

The Money Management Institute reported that assets in separately managed accounts have grown 17 % over the last year. This growth is relatively modest compared to what the industry could see in coming years, said Jean Sullivan, managing principal at Dover Financial Research, which helped compile the data for MMI along with Financial Research Corporation.

A telecommunications company based in Flushing , N.Y. , is accusing online broker Ameritrade of delaying orders to buy and sell stock, the Associated Press reported yesterday.