Special Program Root Tag

Following the mutual fund market-timing scandal, a lot of brokers and hedge funds - especially those implicated - have been assiduously staying away from strategies that involve mutual funds, but some are back in the game. One hedge fund market timer has set up shop under a new name and is back in the business of using mutual funds as part of a hedge fund strategy.

Mutual fund managers are still skittish about the markets, as evidenced by an increase in cash. A Merrill Lynch survey early this month revealed that 19% of all managers and 23% of asset allocators describe themselves as "overweight" in cash, the Associated Press reports.

Although the wealthiest Americans are able to use alternative investments, they have been increasingly turning to mutual funds, according to a recent study from Spectrem Group. The research revealed that mutual fund usage has doubled from 6% of investable assets in 2003 to 12% in 2005.

Within weeks of the impending release of a Notice to Members (NTM) by the NASD on the treatment of equity index annuities (EIAs), the Securities and Exchange Commission has sent a request to numerous insurance companies for information about their EIA products. The inquiry follows up on an early look into the products in the late 1990s.

The Nasdaq Stock Market has created an enhanced index platform that will allow the firm to "calculate and disseminate an unlimited number of indexes on a real-time basis."

It hopes to double the number of banks, trusts, and advisory firms it assists in meeting the investment needs of the very wealthy.

Most Baby Boomers and the elder generation, those 65 and over, agree that they feel confident discussing key issues surrounding inheritance and legacy planning. However, fewer than half have actually done so with their own families, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Allianz Life and market consultant Age Wave.

U.S. Representative Christopher Cox, nominated to succeed William Donaldson as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he would pursue "vigorous enforcement" of securities laws, Bloomberg reports.

While many banks are jettisoning their fund business and using the open-architecture approach to investment products, Commerce Wealth has other ideas.

The new head of Commerce Bancorp Inc.'s wealth management unit said that despite industrywide consolidation and tepid markets, he expects his unit will grow at a faster pace than the parent company.

Pershing, Bank of New York's clearing services arm, says it hopes to develop assets by cross-selling fee-based services from several bank units through the advisory channel.

Assets of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose in June by $4.27 billion, or 1.8%, according to data released yesterday by the Washington-based Investment Company Institute.

It's fun naming hedge funds. Think of an animal or river or Greek god and just run with it.

BISYS Group Inc. indicated its financial statements for fiscal years ended June 30 for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 will be restated because of accounting and revenue recognition errors, Dow Jones reports.

Jeffery Vinik may have left the spotlight to strike out on his own--but he isn't out of the money.

Wilmington Trust Corporation posted higher second-quarter profits Friday on the strength of its regional banking and wealth advisory businesses along with slower growth of business expenses.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price is widely expected to soon join some its key competitors in setting up an asset management venture in India, news reports from the Asia speculate.

Fund giant Fidelity Investments is having a hard time generating sales for its mutual funds this year due to the losses of its once-mighty flagship fund, the Fidelity Magellan Fund, according to Boston Globe columnist Steven Syre.

The board of directors of the Amerindo Technology Fund, a portfolio of Amerindo Funds Inc., approved an agreement and plan of reorganization of the fund into the Munder Internet Fund on July 18, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission

Weighing heavily towards value versus growth, mutual fund stock investors added close to $150 billion to their holdings during the first six months of 2005, according to the New York-based research firm Strategic Insight.