Special Program Root Tag

Many successful models will emerge in the race to provide retirement income management to retirees, but by talking to the competition, the first company to gain major ground in this respect is Fidelity Investments of Boston. In October of 2004, Fidelity launched the final piece of its comprehensive retirement program, Fidelity Retirement Income Advantage (FRIA).

1. Process excellence is key Create repeatable and sustainable processes and be able to demonstrate and document their effectiveness.

Paul Roye

Theodore C. Sihpol III

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to require greater disclosure of fees and payment arrangements by brokerage firms. UBS Wealth Management USA is one firm that is leading the pack by introducing such documents to its clients now, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Fidelity Investments' changes in its high-level management structure may have the welcome effect of upgrading the quality of analyst research, according to a report by Russ Kinnel, director of mutual fund research for Morningstar. The decision came as the result of sluggish performance in some of the company's domestic equity funds, with the structure of the research analyst unit playing a significant role, Kinnel opined.

Global Capital Management, Inc. (GCM) replaced Schneider Capital Management as sub-adviser to the Quaker Mid-Cap Value Fund on Wednesday. Schneider Capital cited its plans to focus on its institutional business as its reason for stepping down.

Paul Schaeffer, managing director of Strategy & Innovation at SEI Investments has a few words for those folks who think the growth curve in the investment management industry has reached its apex: you're not looking nearly close enough.

As retirees gear up to take money out of their 401(k) plans, mutual fund companies will have to look for other sources to drive asset inflow, says Boston Globe columnist Steven Syre.

Headlines this morning indicate that the investigation into directed-brokerage trading practices at vaunted Fidelity Investments has moved to the Federal level. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney General Office are now looking into the nature of gifts bartered from brokerage firms to Fidelity's main trading desk.

An equity mutual fund run by Britain's Standard Life Investments took first place in the performance rankings for UK-registered funds, according to a report issued by Lipper on Wednesday.

Julius Baer Investment Management said on Wednesday that it plans to launch the Julius Baer International Equity Fund II, a new no-load fund that will seek long-term growth of capital by investing in shares of mid- and large-capitalization companies internationally.

Two of U.S. Global Investors' funds made it to Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource Select List. The investment adviser's Eastern European Fund and Global Resources Fund joined its World Precious Minerals Fund, which is one of two funds in the Select List's Precious Metals Funds category.

Placemark Investments, an overlay manager to financial services companies offering unified managed accounts (UMAs), said Wednesday it had received a new round of venture capital financing led by RBC Technology Ventures, Ascent Venture Partners and North Hill Ventures. The financial terms and amount of the deal were not disclosed.

The first trade ousted Bank of America broker Ted Sihpol placed for Canary Capital Partners was a late trade, a former hedge fund broker testified today at Sihpol's fraud trial in New York state court, Bloomberg reports.

Europe's biggest financial institution, UBS AG, reported a record first-quarter net income increase of 15% on the strength of its wealth management division, Bloomberg reports. The group's positive performance helped offset a 19% decrease in earnings in the company's investment banking unit.

Vanguard Group's Extended Market Index Fund will change its target benchmark from the existing Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 to the Standard & Poor's Completion Index.

Clear Asset Management LLC, a Web-enabled asset management and strategic investment newsletter firm, said on Tuesday that it has closed its Series B financing round. The company also announced the appointments of Dan Nathanson as president and chief investment officer, and Raymond Lang as chief operating and chief compliance officer.

In its initial public offering on Monday, Morningstar raised $141 million, a figure at the high end of expectations despite financial losses and a change in underwriters, according to Reuters.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. said on Tuesday that first-quarter profit fell 70%, after the insurance broker agreed to scrap some fees from insurers, which it was accused of hiding from clients by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer last year.