Special Program Root Tag

After surging 7.81% in April, equity mutual funds rose 7.09% in May, Lipper reported Tuesday. This marks the biggest two-month rally for equity funds since late 1999, when they rose 16.4% between November and December.

CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan, an affiliate of Bank One Corporation, announced Tuesday that it has expanded its college savings portfolio to include five new funds and a dollar-cost averaging feature.

Legislators will meet on Capitol Hill Thursday to consider a bill that would bolster the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement powers and increase its ability to award cash settlements to defrauded investors.

Tremont Advisers has changed its name to Tremont Capital Management, in order to more accurately reflect the company’s business focus. The hedge fund manager is owned by OppenheimerFunds.

GE Private Asset Management, GE Financial’s managed account provider, has announced the GE Multiple Strategy Portfolios program. It consists of seven new separately managed account investment managers, as well as expanded roles for two of GE’s existing SMA managers. With the rollout of the Multiple Strategy Portfolios program, GE’s SMA program includes 19 investment managers representing a wide spectrum of asset classes and styles.

Kelmoore Investment Co., which manages $400 million in mutual funds and separate accounts, has moved its performance reporting to CheckFree Investment Services, a division of CheckFree Corp. Kelmoore’s aim is to attract better serve separately managed account sponsors, as 39 of the top 50 sponsor firms and 36 of the top SMA managers use APL.

Bisys Group has entered the separately managed account business as it continues to expand its broad suite of investment services.

The National Association of Securities Dealers is prepared to sell the American Stock Exchange to a Chicago-based private equity firm for $110 million, ending a two-year search for a buyer, The Wall Street Journal reports.

John Hancock Funds has recently announced its eighth closed-end fund and its 12th closed-end fund in total.

ING Brings Personality To Personal Finance

HARTFORD, Conn. - Perhaps no other investment management firm better exemplifies its corporate namesake and feathered icon than Phoenix Investment Partners of Hartford, Conn, the asset management subsidiary of insurance company The Phoenix Cos.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers appeared skeptical of the need to bring hedge fund products to retail investors as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson presented the agency's findings from its hedge fund roundtable.

WASHINGTON - It's reality-check time for mutual fund executives as restoring confidence through lowered expectations could be something of an albatross for the industry.

WASHINGTON - In the aftermath of the easy money of the 1990s, segmentation and retention have become the mutual fund industry buzzwords for the new century, and the new way of doing business.

WASHINGTON - Paul Roye, the Securities and Exchange Commission's director of the division of investment management, issued a wakeup call for the mutual fund industry, telling attendees that the industry's place in the market is not assured, during remarks at the Investment Company Institute's annual convention here.

Victory Capital Management, the asset management division of KeyCorp, will acquire NewBridge Partners, a growth equity investment management firm with $2 billion in assets.

MetLife Retirement & Savings, an administrator of defined benefit and defined contribution programs, has selected ADP Investor Communication Services to provide 401(k) print services for its small- and mid-sized clients.

PFPC, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group, has promoted Sam Sparhawk IV as head of the custody and securities lending businesses of PFPC Trust Co.

Gartmore Global Investments has hired J. Chris Meyer as senior vice president of marketing, reporting to Wilson Santos, executive vice president of distribution.

The Genomics Fund, a mutual fund specializing in investing in the genomics industry, has appointed Robert J. Sullivan portfolio manager for the fund. Sullivan is chief investment officer of Satuit Capital Management and investment manager of the Satuit Capital Microcap Fund. Sullivan replaces Steven T. Newby, who has managed the fund since its inception in March 2000.