Special Program Root Tag

MFS Investment Management’s 529 plans have eclipsed the $1 billion plateau, the company announced, thanks to what it calls "a wide range of investment choices, gifting and estate tax benefits, and MFS investment management expertise."

Value-oriented mutual funds are once again stockpiling cash in their investment portfolios because ongoing market volatility has provided few buying opportunities, TheStreet.com reports.

Eight out of 10 investors believe they are practicing adequate asset allocation, according to a survey conducted by Ibbotson Associates and the Hartford Financial Services Group. However, the majority confuse one-time asset allocation with ongoing diversification.

Hedge funds are fast approaching the $1 trillion mark and a lower level of investor, while growing increasingly influential and potentially disruptive in the capital markets, SEC chairman William Donaldson told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

The SEC has compiled more information to press a case that was dismissed in November against five former Prudential Securities brokers and their manager

Principal Financial Group has bundled three types of employee benefits services into a single automated billing service dubbed Principal Payroll Program. The new service incorporates payroll, retirement plan administration and professional financial advice into a turnkey package. Principal hopes the new program will increase its share of the retirement plan market by simplifying the process of collecting fees from participants and retirement plan sponsors.

At least 18 mutual fund companies that agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle charges brought by securities regulators who accused the firms of improper trading are now in negotiations to snuff out roughly 300 private lawsuits filed by disgruntled shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reports.

King of Prussia, Pa.-based Brinker Capital, in an addition to its Destinations mutual fund platform, has added a balanced income strategy, primarily aimed at retirees.

Before being tabbed as Securities and Exchange Commission chairman in February 2003, William Donaldson was known as anything but liberal. After all, he worked in the Nixon administration and garnered his current position during the tenure of George W. Bush. But the way he has voted lately, it would be hard to differentiate him from the two Democratic SEC commissioners.

Affiliated Managers Group has signed a deal to incorporate Fremont Investment Advisors, which manages approximately $3 billion of assets, into its Managers Funds platform. AMG did not disclose the terms of the deal, which is expected to close this year.

Market timers succeeded in penetrating at least one institutional fund at Fidelity Investments, which has boasted a pristine record of defending individual shareholders by repulsing rapid trading activities, TheStreet.com reports.

Fidelity Investments announced that it plans to reduce electronic equity commissions for customers of registered investment advisers to $8 for trades of up to 3,000 shares.

State Street Corp. has announced that its SSgA Funds Management unit took over management of two exchange-traded funds from UBS Global Asset Management.

Two weeks after employee complaints touched off an audit into Utah’s 529 college savings plan, the plan’s director has been dismissed for sharing the plan’s money pool with that of his own, The Wall Street Journal reports.

While Janus Capital Group still suffered a slight outflow in June, the company’s mutual funds had another strong month in terms of performance, and signs are pointing toward a return to respectability for the formerly prominent but currently scandal-tarred firm, the company announced.

Ah, Southern California, home of hot beaches, obscene traffic jams, yet another actor-turned-Governor and soon, a bevy of new offices owned by the No. 1 mutual fund firm in America. Fidelity Investments, the Los Angeles Business Journal reports, wants to bump up its number of big-city offices to 100 by the end of the year, with 20 of them being in California.

PIMCO is adding a trendy type of fund to its docket – a bank-loan fund – according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Morningstar reports.

The Noah Fund, a socially responsible investing (SRI) mutual fund that claims to invest in accordance with the teachings of the Bible, is getting a little more devout.

Mellon Bets on Paragon to Boost High-Net-Worth Biz:Marks Sixth Acquisition in Four Years

The state of Illinois, in its selection of Citigroup to manage its 529 plan, opted for high fees and disadvantageous options for parents and students looking to save for college, according to Morningstar analyst Russel Kinnel.