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Edina, Minn.-based Kopp Funds announced the launch of a new fund, The Kopp Total Quality Management Fund. The fund, which will focus on the S&P 500 and its "core universe of companies," grades each company in the index based on its demonstrated commitment to total quality management and then ranks it against its peers in its industry. The top 100 companies make up the new fund.

Amvescap continued to phase-out the Invesco brand name last week as it cut 26 jobs, including four fund managers, at the beleaguered fund shop’s offices at the Denver Tech Center, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

While it is widely known that mutual funds are popular among regular citizens, a Virginia watchdog group has learned that funds are also the investment vehicle of choice for the governors of the Federal Reserve, The Chicago Sun Times reports.

The mutual fund scandal has created some refreshing instances of transparency, and the latest one, The Wall Street Journal reports, involves the deals that brokerage firms make with mutual fund companies.

American Century Investments is beefing up its investment lineup this week with five new funds-of-funds designed for conservative investors, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.

American Express Financial Advisors launched an advertising campaign this week targeting mass-affluent investors for its financial advisory services.

J.P. Morgan Chase and Lehman Brothers Holdings were charged this week in a class-action lawsuit for helping Canary Capital Partners, a New York-based hedge fund, engage in trading violations that harmed long-term shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Senator Peter Fitzgerald on Thursday called on Congress to "eliminate or sharply reduce" the layer of fees added onto 529 college savings plans by state governments because they undermine the tax advantage that product offers to investors.

Net contributions into mutual funds shrank to a paltry $1.09 in August after nervous investors withdrew $1.21 billion from stock funds during the same period, Investor's Business Daily reports.

The lion’s share of Middle Americans have not prepared for retirement income, according to a survey from ING US Financial Services.

Money managers express positive feelings on the likelihood that stocks will outperform bonds in the year ahead, according to a third-quarter study from Russell Investment Group released this week.

At its annual meeting this week, Canada’s top mutual fund trade organization will talk about the toughest topic in the industry – trading abuses – The Toronto Star reports.

Vanguard has announced additions to its tax-friendly family of Viper exchange-traded funds, bringing the total number to 20.

Investors in 401(k)s should be applauded for not bailing on the market during the bleak the past few years, Fidelity Investments reported in a study.

Mutual fund companies' high hopes for marketing hedge funds with low minimum investments, also known as long-short funds, to shareholders with modest means are gradually fading as the asset class continues to attract only lackluster sales, Investor's Business Daily reports.

Scudder Investments Tuesday launched a closed-end management investment fund that invests mainly in equities affiliated with the commodities markets.

Wachovia Corp. said that its Wachovia Securities brokerage unit has received notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the agency may recommend enforcement action against the firm for improper mutual fund trading activity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an aggressive new investigation sifting through the personal fortunes of mutual fund managers for improper investments, The Boston Herald reports.

The Independent Directors Council on Tuesday launched a new Web site designed to help educate more than 3,000 independent directors sitting on mutual fund boards.

The vice chairman of The Options Clearing Corporation has a new Chicago-based position as vice chairman of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security.