Special Program Root Tag

Despite the scandalous black cloud that has settled over the fund industry, several investment management companies are still happily shopping for appealing mutual fund complexes, or even a single fund or two.

Heads are rolling all over the mutual fund industry, as allegations that funds gave special trading privileges to big clients are rattling many of the industry's top firms, and some say this is still just the beginning.

NEW ORLEANS - Regulators at the Investment Company Institute's Operations Conference here, in the crescent city, said they will be focusing more on electronic communications and management's attitude towards internal controls as they go forward, in an attempt to be more proactive in examining firms' internal controls.

Franklin Resources, parent company of the Franklin and Templeton mutual funds, announced Thursday that corporate earnings more than doubled in the fourth quarter, citing a ramp-up in equity fund flows that generated higher fees.

NEW ORLEANS – Regulators at the Investment Company Institute’s Operations Conference here said they will be focusing more on electronic communications and management’s attitude towards internal controls as they go forward, in an attempt to be more proactive when examining firms.

Putnam Investments is firing four mutual fund money managers for timing trades in their own international and global funds, reaping themselves more than $700,000 in profits, Reuters reported early Friday morning. All four have been asked to leave, although the fate of another two, who also engaged in market timing, but not in their own funds, is still up in the air. Nancy Fisher, a spokeswoman for Putnam, indicated that further details about the six money managers would be made later on Friday.

Ten members of a New York trade union reportedly took in more than $2 million in profits from market timing trades made through Putnam Investments, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As part of regulators’ increasing scrutiny of mutual fund sales and trading practices, the Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating whether 15 leading brokerage firms pushed certain mutual funds in return for trade orders, The Wall Street Journal reports. Morgan Stanley is one of the firms being investigated, the paper discovered from a filing with the SEC.

Curian Capital has just announced a partnership with the Independent Community Bankers of America to offer separately managed accounts through its member banks.

Last year, the National Retirement Planning Coalition kicked off its first National Retirement Planning Week campaign with former senator Bob Dole as honorary chairperson. On November 17, Ben Stein assumes the mantle for the coming year.

As the fund scandal continues to spread, many investors and industry leaders are pointing to the directors of the funds themselves as one of the main reasons for these problems, and are coming up with ways to make directors more effective, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

As it admitted Wednesday that an internal investigation had found improper trading within the company – both market timing and late trading – Federated Investors further disclosed that it has been subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as part of his mutual fund probe, Reuters reports.

In a record-breaking month, Legg Mason announced a 25% increase in net revenues compared to last September.

Americans are facing retirement with diminished expectations and an emphasis on protecting their assets, two recent studies find.

Financial advisers will have an important piece of investment management industry research available to them for the first time thanks to a collaborative effort announced this week by AdvisorCentral and Financial Research Corp. (FRC)

Following The Boston Globe’s report Tuesday that Putnam Investments will be charged with at least two counts of civil securities fraud within the next few days, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin confirmed to Reuters he is weighing this serious matter. He said he will make a decision in the next few days – emphasizing that market timing is far more widespread than he originally thought.

Thanks to an increase in customer stock trading and perhaps also because of a lower payroll, Charles Schwab Corp. reported a third-quarter profit of $127 million Tuesday, compared to a $4 million loss at the same time last year, Reuters reports.

Looking to tap its 800 independent broker/dealer clients and 100,000 reps already using its Pershing subsidiary for custody services, The Bank of New York has created a way for these B/D firms to rent a managed account platform for their advisers.

Companies with 401(k) plans may not be immune to liability stemming from the mutual fund probe, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Australia’s Computershare, a global transfer agent and technology provider for the financial services industry, announced Monday an agreement to acquire New York-based shareholder services firm Georgeson Shareholder Communications for roughly $115 million in cash.