Special Program Root Tag

Affiliated Managers Group, a Boston asset management company, and AQR Capital Management have announced that AMG has bought an equity interest in AQR's business.

The Security and Exchange Commission’s formal dealings with mutual fund companies may continue into next year if the Commission follows through on plans to punish investment firms for failing to provide mutual fund board members with vital information, Dow Jones reports.

Franklin Templeton Investments has settled charges by Massachusetts securities regulators that it failed to include an admission to wrongdoing in an SEC filing referring to its market-timing settlement with the state. Franklin made news of the settlement in yet another regulatory filing on Monday, Dow Jones reports.

A pair of money managers working for Harvard University’s endowment fund collectively netted more than $50 million in fees in fiscal 2004 for delivering top-tier performance in their respective investment fields, Reuters reports.

The selection of Internet-driven mutual funds has subsided in recent years, as investors increasingly thumbed their noses at investments rooted firmly in the technology sector, Dallas Morning News reports.

And now, this Thanksgiving week, a reason for funds to give thanks.

Federal securities regulators are scheduled to vote Dec. 15 on reforms to the national market system, including a provision requiring brokers to execute customer orders at the best price available regardless of which exchange that price exists on, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule requiring mutual fund boards to seat independent directors picked up support this week from two powerful congressional financial services committee members.

The management of The Korea Fund, Inc. narrowly avoided a coup by investors in a recent shareholders meeting, but aggravated investors succeeded in electing two candidates to the fund's board of directors.

The SEC settled with Harold J. Baxter and Gary L. Pilgrim for fraud charges surrounding undisclosed market timing. Each has been ordered to pay $60 million in disgorgement and $20 million in civil penalties. This, combined with the $90 million that Pilgrim, Baxter & Associates was ordered to pay in July 2003, will eventually go to injured investors. The SEC has also permanently barred both from the industry. Stephen M. Cutler, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said the "severity of misconduct" warranted the unprecedented settlement amounts and permanent bars.

Franklin Templeton Investments agreed to pay $18 million to California for failing to disclose it paid brokers for shelf space, Bill Lockyer, the state's attorney general, announced. Of this money, $14 million will be reimbursed to investors, $2 million is for a civil penalty and $2 million is to reimburse Lockyer's office for the investigation. Franklin also agreed to fully inform investors about shelf-space deals going forward. Lockyer settled a similar case with PIMCO for $9 million in September. His investigation into American Funds is ongoing.

Janus Capital next year will launch three mutual funds in hopes of maintaining its position as an equity growth powerhouse, Reuters reports.

Merrill Lynch will become the first foreign institution to list a mutual fund on China's exchanges, as it begins selling its latest investment product to domestic investors this week, Reuters reports.

Parents faced with the daunting task of paying for their children's college education continued to put cash in 529 college savings plans, as assets rose to $45.1 billion in the third quarter, according to data released last Tuesday by the College Savings Foundation.

In an effort to stave off a lengthy stint in prison, former Bank of America broker Theodore Sihpol has asked a New York judge to dismiss criminal fraud charges against him, according to a motion filed by his attorney last week. Although he argues that accepting trades after 4 p.m. has never been illegal, industry experts don't think this premise will hold up in court.

Within a Chicago suburban strip mall in Northbrook, Ill., nestled among the typical fast food, drug store and dry cleaning storefronts, is an unusual newcomer, The Mutual Fund Store.

ORLANDO -- Conducting risk self-assessments has become a paramount concern for mutual funds, as new compliance rules, mounting client demands, product innovations and heavier workloads are all tugging operations personnel in every direction. And there is more work coming down the pipeline.

Stock and bond funds had inflows of $21.5 billion in September, an increase of $8 billion from a month earlier, according to Financial Research Corp. However, money market funds lost $45.9 billion, bringing both long-term and short-term mutual funds a loss of $24.4 billion for the month.

Putnam Investments announced last week that it will lay off approximately 100 people across all areas of the company, "to improve the operating efficiency of Putnam," Chief Executive Officer Charles Haldeman said in a statement.

The Investment Company Institute has expressed concern about an aspect of the new New York Stock Exchange hybrid market plan. The "broker agency interest file" allows brokers to post orders outside of the best price available that aren't displayed with other orders but that generally receive the same priority.