Special Program Root Tag

Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss (BHMS) has announced the addition of Deborah Petruzzelli to its fixed income team as portfolio manager for asset-backed, commercial mortgage-backed and mortgage-backed securities. In addition to portfolio management responsibilities, Petruzzelli will assume an active role in portfolio strategy and client service.

Pioneer Global Asset Management has promoted Osbert Hood to chief executive officer and president of Pioneer Investment Management USA.

Despite its key role in promoting sound corporate governance and restoring public trust, the mutual fund industry is not taking the necessary steps to right the ship.

Web sites of global firms geared towards institutional investors are still lacking in several areas despite strides in the right direction, according to a yet-to-be published report by electronic business consulting firm kasina of New York.

A new hedge fund has recently been formed called NewMarket Capital Partners, Reuters reports. However, what makes this fund unique is that it will be run by three women in a largely male-dominated industry.

Pyxis Consulting, a provider of technology solutions for the investment management industry, has announced the release of new personal digital assistant software for mutual fund and annuity wholesalers.

With $67 billion of assets under management, Frank Russell Co. is the leader of the $227 billion manager-of-manager industry, according to a report from Cerulli Associates. The firm’s market share grew from 23% in 2001 to 26% last year, according to the study, "The Global Multi-Manager and Mutual Fund Subadvisory Markets 2003."

Investors with a willingness to take more of a risk in search of higher returns injected extremely high levels of cash into the U.S. junk bond market in the week ending June 4, Reuters reports. The inflow was at near-record levels.

Integrity Mutual Funds has announced that it will consolidate its two wholly owned broker/dealer firms.

John Hancock has lowered the minimum guaranteed interest rate on its fixed annuities from 3% to 2% in states where permissible. In response to consumers’ reluctance to lock in a rate over a long period of time, the firm is also offering investors the choice of a one-year guaranteed rate as opposed to a five-year rate.

As corporate reporting standards have been under intense scrutiny, a new method, the Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), may be a remedy for the ills that have been plaguing Wall Street and corporate America as a whole.

Money manager Eaton Vance has acquired a majority stake in investment manager Parametric Portfolio Associates for $28 million in cash. This ends the company’s ongoing search for new acquisitions.

The National Association of Securities Dealers is following up on a Prudential internal probe that found some managers and brokers had forged documents in order to switch clients from one annuity to another, thus boosting sales results.

The Van Global Hedge Fund Index, a benchmark of hedge fund performance run by Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, rose 3.7% in May, net of fees, up from a 2.6% gain in April, according to a preliminary report. That brings the index up 7% for 2003, marking its best calendar-year start since 1999.

American Century Investments and JPMorgan, the asset management unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., announced Tuesday that the Morgan unit took sole ownership of the companies'’ joint venture retirement plan on June 1.

Some of Italy’s most powerful fund managers have publicly expressed their concerns about a potential merger of Telecom Italia with its parent company Olivetti, according to Reuters.

The relationship between net asset value (NAV) and income from 12b-1 fees makes equity market volatility an important factor in 12b-1 fee asset securitizations, but it is not the only one, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s.

Evergreen Investments has launched a new national advertising campaign entitled, "More Demanding." The advertisements focus on the disclipined approach and long-term dedication to quality asset management Evergreen has deployed since 1932, according to the company. "The market fluctuates. Our standards, however, don’t," is the tagline for one of the print ads. "While the market will never be controlled, we believe it can be managed," is the tagline for another. The ads will run on a variety of television networks, outdoor media and in print publications.

PFPC, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group, announced Wednesday that the F&C Claymore Preferred Securities Income Fund has selected the firm for its fund accounting and administration services.

Only a small percentage of Americans maximize their 401(k) contribution limits, Putnam Investments’ Putnam Participant Poll shows. Only 11% of those under 50 contribute the $12,000 maximum amount and only 14% of those over 50 contribute the $14,000 maximum. Furthermore, the number of people participating in 401(k) plans has dropped by 6% since the beginning of the year, Reuters reports. Nonetheless, 85% of respondents said retirement is their No. 1 savings goal, the Putnam survey showed.