Special Program Root Tag

Alliance Capital Management is among about 20 companies under investigation by the New York Stock Exchange for improperly identifying short-sale stock transactions, the asset manager said in its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Office of Thrift Supervision, the chief regulator of the U.S. savings-and-loan industry, has advised Washington Mutual that its application to buy Providian Financial is complete. It won't hold hearings on the proposed deal, an Aug. 5 report from Reuters said.

Lost amidst all the debate in the industry over whether newly anointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox will run the regulator with an iron fist or a blind eye, is the long-standing issue of whether mutual fund prospectuses will ever become user-friendly.

Merrill Lynch's diversified portfolios line of products has topped $10 billion in assets. The company is also adding four outside managers to the mutual fund version of the product, creating Funds Diversified Portfolios (FDP) - Multi-Firm.

Christopher Cox, the newly appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, addressed the agency's staff for the first time Thursday, reminding them that "other people's money" is what the SEC is all about.

Investors are increasingly recognizing the need for professional advice and comprehensive financial planning. Half of GenX investors, 46% of Baby Boomers and 45% of Matures believed they needed "the help of professionals," according to the most recent "Across Generations" survey from MainStay Investments, a division of New York Life Investment Management.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a cease-and-desist proceeding against the Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust (UESP), the first against a 529 plan. The agency has also released an investor education guide that explains the basics that investors should know before saving for college.

The New York Stock Exchange is looking into nipping Volume Weighted Average Price, or "VWAP," an increasingly common trade-order and hedging technique, in the bud.

Life insurance is traditionally a labor-intensive and complex sale, one that turns away many brokers accustomed to the ease of "dropping a ticket" in a simpler securities transaction.

Placemark Investments has announced that more than 100 investment managers are now participating in its unified managed account (UMA) programs via the firm's overlay management process.

In what could set a new precedent in the persisting mutual fund scandal, Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a former broker at Prudential Securities for wire and securities fraud related to mutual fund market timing.

Muddle through.

Wirehouses are losing customers, assets and, according to some analysts, their brokers as affluent investors increasingly turn to independent channels for advice.

Amvescap, parent to the AIM and Invesco fund brands, indicated last Tuesday its second quarter profit had fallen 7% to 60.3 million pounds, or $106.9 million, from 59.1 million the previous quarter. Analyst consensus had forecast that figure at 62.2 million pounds.

Nuveen Investments of Chicago announced Monday it has agreed to buy Santa Barbara Asset Management.

Federated Investors has reported a 25% decline in second-quarter profit partly because of a charge the Pittsburgh investment management company had to take related to improper trading.

Putnam Investments indicated Monday it will oppose Washington Mutual's plan to take over Providian Financial, of which it owns 7.5% of stock.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan swore Christopher Cox in last Wednesday as the 28th chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, a third-party recordkeeping and administration company, has announced that Christina Gregory has assumed responsibilities as regional manager for the Southeast region.

Once reserved for only the wealthiest of individual and institutional investors, private equity funds are now targeting more high-net-worth individuals by slashing the minimum investment to as little as $25,000. That's a far cry from the $10 million ante demanded by some of the more expensive funds.