Special Program Root Tag

The mutual fund industry has seen a marked bounce-back in the last few quarters, but despite high hopes, 2003 has turned out to be another year that the annuity industry would prefer to forget. Variable annuity sales are starting to recover and fixed annuities sales finally started to decline because of poor yields, and variable life remains the runt of the litter that implacably suffers from failure to thrive.

Stale pricing has not yet become a problem in the hedge fund industry – as it has for mutual funds, but still could catch the eye of regulators as the potential for abuses exists, Dow Jones reports.

The fund scandal took a surprising turn Thursday when Alliance Capital Management, as expected, agreed to lower management fees on its funds as part of a landmark $600 million settlement that could set an alarming precedent.

Most retirement plan sponsors are responding to the continuing revelations of mutual fund trading violations by shuffling their investment option lineup, according to a survey of CFOs from Financial Executives International.

Things had to get better in 2003. That was the mantra heading into the year. After all, the market was entering its third consecutive down year and still reeling from the fallout from the bubble-burst and the ongoing war on terror. Logic only had it that things had to move upwards, because they sure couldn’t get worse.

A poor showing has forced Connecticut-based Andor Capital Management to fire portfolio manager David Felman from its Diversified Growth Fund and replace him with founding partner Chris James, the company said.

Money Management Executive wants to know what you think about the scandal. Take half a minute to answer four questions, including whether you think the Investment Company Institute is serving your interests well: http://www.mfmarketnews.com/poll.cfm

Former Fred Alger Management Vice Chairman James Connelly was sentenced to one to three years in prison yesterday by the New York Supreme Court for tampering market-timing evidence.

Interim New York Stock Exchange Chairman John Reed and his board want to make the positions of chief executive officer and chairman separate, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson said yesterday.

Not only did Alliance Capital employees send e-mails mentioning the market timing practices of one of its largest clients, but Vice Chairman Roger Hertog was included in the correspondence, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Despite increased scrutiny into mutual fund fees, the number of closed funds still charging 12b-1 fees to investors has increased since the summer, according to data released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s.

Putnam Investments fired another nine employees, the media is reporting this morning.

The nation’s largest public pension fund said Tuesday it is suing the New York Stock Exchange and its seven specialist firms for collaborating to fleece investors over the last five years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged two top officials of an unregistered hedge fund investment advisor with "failure to supervise" charges Monday, marking the first time these types of charges have been filed against individuals working for an unregistered firm.

Even with the expectations of interest rate increases, a Merrill Lynch survey showed that global fund managers expect 2004 to be a year of growth for equity markets.

Alliance Capital Management will agree tomorrow to cut its fees 20% over the next five years, The Wall Street Journal reports this morning. The preemptive move – a result of the firm’s negotiations with regulators in the fund scandal – will be worth $350 million to investors and comes on top of an expected $250 million settlement.

Alliance Capital Management will agree tomorrow to cut its fees 20% over the next five years, The Wall Street Journal reports this morning. The preemptive move – a result of the firm’s negotiations with regulators in the fund scandal – will be worth $350 million to investors and comes on top of an expected $250 million settlement.

In a move designed to restore industry confidence and nudge investors’ interests back to the forefront, the Investment Company Institute told the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday that it supports the curtailing of soft dollars and banning of "directed brokerage."

Strong Capital Management, a firm entrenched in the middle of the mutual fund scandal, is hurriedly attempting to complete a sale of the company, sources told Reuters Friday.

Boston-based Putnam Investments lost another client Friday, as MetLife Advisers LLC decided to shift to Fidelity Investments as the sub-advisor for its mutual funds, Reuters reports.