Special Program Root Tag

Allstate Insurance Co. is telling Spanish-speaking customers, "Asi Piensa Allstate," or "That’s What Allstate Believes" in an ad campaign that includes 30 different television spots that will air on Telemundo and Univision. Actor Esai Morales from "NYPD Blue" and "American Family" is Allstate’s spokesman.

The merger between the MONY Group and AXA Financial has finally been approved. A vigorous campaign encouraged shareholders to vote against the planned merger, on the basis that AXA’s offering price was too low. A little over half, which amounted to 67% of shares voted, were for the proposed merger.

Investment Company Institute Chairman Paul Haaga told mutual fund executives at the General Membership Meeting in Washington Wednesday that they must always consider investors' interests first, and that the recent scandal should serve as a constant reminder about those investors' well-being.

The Vanguard Group will manage a bevy of new Ohio Tuition Trust Authority investment options in the state’s 529 college savings plan.

Eaton Vance Corp. reported a 39% profit increase for the second quarter 2004 over the second quarter 2003, with the firm’s separately managed account (SMA) and mutual fund units helping lead the way.

PFPC Tuesday announced a new open architecture data repository and analytics suite that can integrate information from a variety of sources, including transfer agent, sub-accounting, brokerage and other third-party system. Designed to allow for a single reporting system, the program allows users to merge data from these disparate sources to generate compliance reports or to cull information to create marketing campaigns.

American Express Retirement Services has announced a new defined contribution plan designed for mid-size firms with $5 million to $50 million in plan assets. Called NEXTPlan, it bundles together all of the elements essential to a retirement plan including education, financial planning, daily recordkeeping, paperless processing, online plan administration tools and a selection of nearly 400 funds from American Express and 15 other fund companies. Participants can access their accounts either on the Web or via the phone. In addition, NEXTPlan includes programs for executives.

Franklin Resources indicated in a recent government filing that it is close to reaching a financial settlement with securities regulators who have charged the company with improper trading activities, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. The company also said the SEC may recommend civil charges for improper trading.

Morningstar analyst Dan McNeela has gone one step further than just taking Janus off a proprietary short list of untrustworthy mutual fund providers. In a recent column on Morningstar’s Web site, McNeela heaped praise on the asset manager for implementing new internal procedures aimed at deterring market timers from accessing its funds.

Bear Stearns Asset Management and Dreyfus Corp finalized an agreement this week combining $4.4 billion of assets into new and existing Dreyfus mutual funds.

ClearSky, a unit of PFPC’s Automated Business Development regulatory and compliance division, has sent a would-be employee embezzler packing.

ABN Amro Asset Management has selected State Street Corp. to run its fund administration and investment operations services in Europe.

Strong Financial Corp. may settle with state and federal regulators as early as this week, moving the mutual fund scandal-scarred company one step closer to being purchased by Wells Fargo, The Wall Street Journal reports.

A unit of MetLife may be charged by the SEC for trading improprieties in annuities, CBSMarketWatch reports.

The theme of the ICI General Membership Meeting this year is "A Matter of Trust," a trust that has been broken in light of recent events, namely the flood of improper trading uncovered by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission, CBSMarketWatch reports. The shadow of the scandal and the pending sweeping reforms will be the hot-button issues at this year’s meeting.

Principal Financial’s has changed the name and strategy of one of its top mutual funds. The Principal Utilities Fund is now the Principal Equity Income Fund, and instead of investing all in utilities, it will invest in a more diverse portfolio that includes value stocks in many industries, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and convertible and preferred securities.

Assets in 529 college savings plans reached $40 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to data from Financial Research Corp., released by the College Savings Foundation. This marked a 13.9% increase from $35.1 billion in assets at the end of 2003 and an 87.5% increase from $21.3 billion in assets in the first quarter of 2003.

Shirley Fulton, former North Carolina Superior Court judge, is now a member of Evergreen Investments’ board of trustees, the company announced.

Research firm Financial Research Corp. of Boston has named John Benvenuto head of mutual fund products service. Previously the company's director of research, Benvenuto will lead the company's biggest division, responsible for fund products and their distribution.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Legg Mason generated $297.8 million in net earnings, a 56% increase over last year. Total revenue for the year was $1.941 billion, a 29% uptick from last year, marking the second straight year that Legg Mason set company records.