Special Program Root Tag

The naming of Ed Haldeman to replace Larry Lasser as CEO of Putnam Investments, along with other actions taken by the troubled fund company, have prompted Morningstar to lift its advice to investors that money should not be poured into Putnam funds.

Privately held investment bank AH Lisanti Capital Growth Monday announced the launch of the Adams Harkness Small-Cap Growth Fund, a joint offering that will be managed by veteran fund skipper Mary Lisanti.

A financial consultant who worked for Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit timed $20 million in FleetBoston’s Columbia funds.

Brinker Capital, one of the most preeminent providers of separately managed accounts, announced yesterday that it has broadened its "Destination" lineup to include passive large-core and real estate, and that it has reduced its fees from 50 basis points to 20 basis points.

Regulators are not just targeting those in cahoots with market timers. Now, any firm that failed to do enough to keep the wolves out of the pen is fair game.

MIAMI -- In every business, you'll find a group of people whose hard work often goes unrewarded or overlooked. Within the mutual fund industry, operations personnel are the unsung heroes whose behind-the-scenes toil enables advisors to deliver quality investment products and services to 90 million investors.

The SEC's top regulators have chastised mutual funds. State regulators have fired harsh salvos at them. And to put it quite mildly, the national press has gone to town.

First, the good news: Today's job seekers are pretty clear about why they would choose one job over another.

Michael Travaglini, a Putnam Investments executive who has also served as head of Boston's retirement fund operation, has been selected as the new director of Massachusetts' state pension fund, a $32 billion fund which has been looking for a new executive director since last summer, it was reported last week. Travaglini replaces James Hearty, who was forced out of the job last summer but remained on until early this month. The fund's performance was not an issue in Hearty's departure, according to the state's treasury office, considering it produced a return of 26.42% in 2003.

Fidelity COO Robert Reynolds called 12b-1 fees "fair" and necessary in order to cover distribution costs. He made the remarks last week at Reuters Fund Summit in Boston.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announced last Monday that it would pour $37 million to reform and educate employees on corporate governance. The funding is, in part, forced by a December settlement with federal regulators stemming from its links to the blown-up accounting practices at Enron.

T. Rowe Price Hires Moreland As New Chief Financial Officer

Regulators have gone straight for the throat of FleetBoston, charging two of the company's Columbia units with orchestrating a "massive" market timing scheme and seeking to enjoin Columbia Advisors from serving as advisor to its own mutual funds.

It's not every day one encounters a company that's content to be No. 2. But that's exactly the business plan of Principal Retirement & Investor Services. While Principal serves three million investors in 40,000 employer plans, most of those plans are at companies with 1,000 workers or less.

Curian Capital announced last Wednesday that Legacy Bank, La Jolla, Calif., has added Curian's managed account program to its menu of investment products. Legacy Bank is a locally owned and managed financial institution that focuses on private banking clients.

Steady economic growth has prompted Japanese fund managers to bulk up their portfolios with domestic stocks and filter out bonds, a Reuters poll showed.

One million customers won a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco against Bank of America yesterday, and The Wall Street Journal reports that the victory may result in the bank having to pay $1 billion to reimburse them.

FleetBoston Financial has begun to feel ripple effects from the civil fraud charges filed by regulators last week, including a review by New York State officials of the implications for investors in the 529 college savings program that Fleet's Columbia Asset Management unit began managing in January.

Equity mutual fund assets posted a $43.76 billion inflow in January, up from the $14.18 billion inflow in December, according to the Investment Company Institute’s most recent survey of the fund industry.

John Hancock Advisers announced Friday the launch of its 13th closed-end fund, a fund that aims to provide a high level of after-tax return from dividend income and capital appreciation.