Special Program Root Tag

Japanese investors have historically played the role of the hometown referee, favoring the local teams and giving foreign asset management firms a slim chance of staying in the game. However, the Japanese appear tired of giving the home team a free pass. That has made selling financial services in Japan a whole new ballgame.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, governments in the U.S. and abroad have moved aggressively to combat the problem of money laundering and terrorist financing at financial institutions. To this end, Title III of the USA Patriot Act introduces many new classes of financial institutions to many of the same anti-money laundering (AML) control requirements that banks have had to comply with for many years under the Bank Secrecy Act and other laws.

The requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and subsequent SEC rules have significant implications for the responsibilities of fund audit committees, the way they do business and the qualifications of their members. Not only did the act formalize measures to safeguard the independence of outside auditors, it redefined the role of fund audit committees in assuring transparency, and thus accountability, to shareholders. No less than in years past, the quality of a fund's financial reporting depends upon close and effective coordination among management, the audit committee and the audit firm. Sarbanes-Oxley altered, however, in crucial respects, the rules of engagement.

While regulators frown upon market timing, some fund companies permit it, and they are seeing their assets swell, The New York Times reports. ProFunds has taken in $200 million in net new assets since New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer began his probe, Michael Sapir, ProFunds chairman, told the paper. Rydex and Potomac Funds are two other fund companies that don’t penalize investors for moving in and out of their funds, and that could also benefit from the ongoing investigation.

SEI Investments has formed a partnership with CheckFree to improve its managed account platform.

Citing New York 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.

Olympia Capital, a fund administrator in Bermuda that services embattled Canary Capital Partners, was sued in June in New York’s Eastern U.S. District Court for allegedly running a criminal enterprise to take control of real estate companies run by Thomas B. Donovan, Reuters reports.

Despite New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigation into potentially illegal and illicit trades by four mutual fund companies, the investing public – at least so far – is turning a deaf ear, Reuters reports. Investors’ willingness to pour money into equity funds is evidently driven by performance; year-to-date, the average equity fund is up 25.6%, according to Morningstar. TrimTabs.com estimates that stock funds have continued to see net inflows every day since Spitzer announced his investigation on Sept. 3. Spokespeople for Fidelity and T. Rowe Price both told Reuters that inflows have continued at a very strong pace.

Eric Zitzewitz, assistant professor of economics at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, released findings of a study Thursday showing that late trading is more common than fund executives or regulators might have suspected, Reuters reports.

Americans are not prepared to generate income for retirement, according to a new survey from GE Financial. Only 41% were familiar with the term "retirement income planning."

Bank of America, which figures prominently in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s Canary Capital Partners investigation, has reportedly dismissed two brokers who played a central role in the scandal.

Lawrence York, who rose to fame as Internet and technology stocks skyrocketed in the late 1990s, has dropped the WWW from his company’s name. WWW Advisors has now been renamed Interactive Planning Corp. (IPC) Financial Group, Reuters reports. However, the flagship WWW Internet Fund is keeping its name and York still holds pure-play technology funds.

The Investment Company Institute, the trade association for the $6.8 trillion-dollar fund industry, is little better than lobbyists for the gun, tobacco and alcohol industries, an article in Forbes charges.

Eric Zitzewitz, assistant professor of economics at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, released findings of a study Thursday showing that late trading is more common than fund executives or regulators might have suspected, Reuters reports.

Americans are not prepared to generate income for retirement, according to a new survey from GE Financial. Only 41% were familiar with the term "retirement income planning."

Bank of America, which figures prominently in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s Canary Capital Partners investigation, has reportedly dismissed two brokers who played a central role in the scandal.

Lawrence York, who rose to fame as Internet and technology stocks skyrocketed in the late 1990s, has dropped the WWW from his company’s name. WWW Advisors has now been renamed Interactive Planning Corp. (IPC) Financial Group, Reuters reports. However, the flagship WWW Internet Fund is keeping its name and York still holds pure-play technology funds.

The Investment Company Institute, the trade association for the $6.8 trillion-dollar fund industry, is little better than lobbyists for the gun, tobacco and alcohol industries, an article in Forbes charges.

As part of its ongoing mission to offer an expanded menu of offerings to investors beyond separately managed accounts, Lockwood Advisors has unveiled a mutual fund wrap program that offers its products to investors for as little as $25,000. The program is part of its platform for independent financial advisers.

Wasatch Funds recently decided to refuse all new money, even from existing shareholders, for four funds that had between $459 million and $1.32 billion in them apiece, Reuters reports. While funds, from time to time, close to new investors, it is unusual for a fund to shut out even existing investors. Wasatch had already disallowed new investors from investing in the four funds.