Special Program Root Tag

Betsy Bliss has joined Bear Stearns as a managing director in the private client services division, based in San Francisco. The hire is part of the firm's ongoing plan to grow this business by attracting top producers in the industry.

Dresdner RCM Global Investors has hired Edward Allinson to work with Mark Phelps as co-chief investment officer for global equities, running nearly $2 billion in assets. He reports to Ian Vose, chief investment officer.

Michael R. Granito has joined Federated Investors as a senior vice president and head of capital market research. He reports to Keith Schappert, president and CEO of Federated.

Two consecutive quarters of job gains and strong fourth-quarter earnings reports will tell fund managers and investors whether or not the U.S. economy is back on track and the market correction and profit-taking that took hold in many sectors on Sept. 20 will cease.

Employees in 401(k) plans are unable to retire as early as pension recipients, but not as later as one might think. 401(k) participants retire an average 15 months later than workers with traditional pensions, a new study finds.

State regulation of the insurance market is inconsistent and erratic, according to a report from the General Account Office (GAO). Congress is looking at market conduct supervision because the current system has created a situation that does not provide adequate consumer protection and at the same time creates onerous supervision of some companies.

As regulators look to tighten up the mutual fund industry and instill greater investor confidence, they may have a difficult time proving that managers buying stocks to dress up a portfolio intend to deceive investors, Reuters reports

Janus Capital Group lost $314 million in assets between August and September as the result of accusations from New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that the company allowed some investors to engage in market timing, Reuters reports.

More U.S. households are using Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) as an investment vehicle than a year ago, according to a report released by Investment Company Institute.

Independent financial advisers dealing with Lockwood Advisors, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York, were introduced to a new product Tuesday when the company announced the launch of an Overlay Separate Account Portfolio (OSAP) program designed to help both advisers and their clients.

In an effort to further strengthen the effectiveness of mutual fund boards, the Investment Company Institute added two recommendations to its "15 best practices" platform: prohibition of close family members of fund employees, and audit requirements mirroring those set forth for companies by Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

To tap into the Asian and European markets, Prudential Financial launched a new private wealth management firm Wednesday called Dryden Financial, Reuters reports.

Two consecutive quarters of job gains and strong fourth-quarter earnings reports will tell fund managers and investors whether or not the U.S. economy is back on track – and whether the market correction and profit-taking that took hold in many sectors on Sept. 20 will continue, Lipper analysts said Wednesday.

The 20.9% jump in stock funds for 2003 has erased the perils of the recent bear market from investors’ memories, according to many industry analysts. And that might be a bad sign, Reuters reports.

Mr. October’s chilling trail of past Wall Street carnage makes investors cringe every time the calendar flips to the 10th month, Reuters reports. Most notably, 1929 and 1987 creep to memory’s fore, and many investors stay out of the market altogether in October.

Fidelity Investments has announced the start-up of an exchange-traded fund that will be traded in the Nasdaq market.

Putnam Investments has fired two more of its equity fund managers, one of them the manager of an aggressive growth fund that has trailed its peers, Reuters reports.

The Investment Company Institute has found that parents saving for college have a high awareness of education-targeted plans and accounts.

Producers who sell index annuities gave American Equity a solid "B" grade, according to results from the Advantage Group’s annual survey. Producers were asked to assign grades ("A" through "F") to companies they deal with on six different criteria.

A Baltimore court has ordered Legg Mason to pay newsletter publisher Lowry’s Reports $20 million for sharing one paid $700 subscription to Lowry’s Market Trend Analysis with more than 1,300 employees over the company’s intranet, Reuters reports.