Special Program Root Tag

In an apparent effort to clear the air and address issues of secrecy and wrongdoing, Janus executives have agreed to meet with the Colorado securities commissioner this month to discuss what has been done since the mutual fund probe began, Reuters reports.

Small business owners expect to spend record amounts in 2004, according to City Business Journals Network. Seventy-eight percent of 900 people surveyed said they expect business prospects to improve over the next 12 months, 18% said they expect them to stay the same, and 4% said they will get worse.

Money magazine’s October issue charges that for more than a decade through 2002, Wilshire Associates engaged in far-reaching fund timing that resulted in fat returns.

Ambiguous speculation about possible changes in the hedge fund industry has begun to run rampant, according to lawyers and managers analyzing recent probes resulting in, most importantly, Canary Capital’s $40 million fine payout amid after-hours trading allegations.

Fidelity Investments, the nation’s biggest mutual fund company, said Friday that its sector funds will no longer carry a 3% front-end sales charge.

BoA Broker Faces 25 Years In Prison in Canary Caper

A painful bear market and shrinking profit margins have forced nearly every mutual fund firm to consolidate operations and cut jobs in the past few years. With the unemployment rate sitting at 6.1%, it is difficult to sugarcoat what are clearly distressed labor market conditions.

ORLANDO, Fla. - As New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer continues to focus on fund executives who have broken the oldest rules in the books, others in the industry gathered at the Investment Company Institute's Tax and Accounting Conference here last week to try and figure out how to comply with some of the newer regulations.

Separately managed accounts continue to gather steam as industry data shows sales growth far outpacing mutual funds.

Within the mutual fund industry recently, no three little words have become as important as "fair value pricing."

Bank of America has been busy doing damage control in the wake of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's probe into its and four other fund companies' trading policies. The bank has fired Robert Gordon, director of mutual funds, and two other top salespeople named in Spitzer's complaint, including Theodore C. Sihpol III, a broker who worked in BoA's New York office for high-net-worth clients, and Charles Bryceland, head of brokerage and private banking. Broker Mike Tierney and sales supervisor Kathy Tubiolo have also been let go. Rich DeMartini, head of asset management and also named in Spitzer's suit, had not lost his job as of press time.

Citing New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's charges against Canary Capital Partners and his related investigation into Janus, Bank of America's Nations Funds, Bank One and Strong, Morningstar has suspended its recommendation on the four families' funds indefinitely. Furthermore, Morningstar is urging investors to consider selling their shares in these funds. However, Morningstar said the funds will still qualify for its top "star" ratings, should they deliver performance that merits them.

Despite the investigation by New York State's attorney general and the Securities and Exchange Commission into questionable and possibly illegal trading policies at four fund companies, the investing public - at least so far - is turning a deaf ear. Investors' willingness to pour money into equity funds is evidently driven by performance; year-to-date, the average equity fund is up 25.6%. TrimTabs.com estimates that stock funds have continued to see net inflows every day since Spitzer announced his investigation on Sept. 3. Spokespeople for Fidelty and T. Rowe Price have both stated publicly that inflows have continued at a very strong pace.

Ruth Papazian is joining Morgan Stanley as the head of investment management global marketing. She was previously the president and chief marketing officer of Evergreen Investments, and before that, director of marketing for Wells Fargo Securities. In her 20 years in the industry, she has also worked for Fidelity and Colonial Mutual Funds.

Christopher K. Von Bargen has joined Gabelli Asset Management as a senior vice president, marketing, a new position in which he will be in charge of institutional sales in the Southeast. He will be based in Atlanta and report to Chief Operating Officer Doug Jamieson.

Avinash Persaud, the former head of global research and a managing director at State Street Corp., is joining GAM next month as investment director in charge of a global currency fund that will be launched by the end of the year. Persaud issued a statement saying he decided to join the firm because it gives its portfolio managers freedom yet supports them with a strong technological and operations infrastructure.

Fred Alger has promoted Dan Chung from chief investment officer and director of research to president. Chung joined the firm in 1994 as chief technology analyst. He became CIO on Sept. 11, 2001.

Rex Wagner has been appointed as president and chief executive officer of Cardinal Wealth Services. He joins the firm after having served as the manager of the Washington office of Raymond James & Associates.

The 529 college savings plan has yet to catch America's attention the way many providers would have hoped. While it is still early in the product's lifespan, it has struggled with profitability issues, low awareness levels among average investors, and potentially crushing legislative barriers.

While New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s complaint against Canary Capital Partners states that market timing and late trading can cost investors as much as $4 billion a year, another report puts it in terms that may hit home a little harder for many investors. Timing can sap a fund’s returns by as much as 2% a year, according to The Wall Street Journal.