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While the Securities and Exchange Commission looks into unusually high “put” activity at Bear Stearns beginning on March 7, a handful of hedge fund managers used their magical touch as far back as the summer to foresee what was going down with regards to the subprime exposure at the investment firm. Greenlight Capital , Harbinger Capital Partners , Paulson Investment Co . and Tremblant Capital Group are among the larger hedge funds to place short positions on the stock, undoubtedly inspired by the subprime troubles in its hedge funds, The Wall Street Journal reports. Thus, the hedge fund managers handily earned themselves millions. As The Journal puts it, the asset managers are undoubtedly “trying to contain their joy among all the gloom on Wall Street.” Also this morning, the Associated Press cites a regulatory filing indicating that U.K. billionaire Joseph Lewis is valiently attempting to hold onto his 8.4% stake in Bear Stearns. And further across the pond, the Russian police have raided the Moskow offices of energy joint venture TNK-BP. So while the market gyrates with bad news from Bear Stearns, there is, of course, always the counterplay—as evidenced by JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Lewis, Greenlight Capital and other savvy hedge fund managers. The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

Shareholders in a number of large Fidelity mutual funds, most notably the $73 billion Contrafund, succeeded in forcing a proxy vote that will take place later today on whether the company should institute a “genocide-free” investment policy, the Associated Press reports. The unbinding measure is unlikely to pass, however.

After a year of record growth, Hartford Financial Services Inc. wants to expand its 529 college savings business over the next two years by increasing sales and perhaps by becoming a plan sponsor in another state.

Charles Schwab is now offering a program fee rebate on its managed mutual fund portfolios, Schwab Managed Portfolios, to investors who put $25,000 or more of assets into a new or existing retirement account.

Nationwide Financial, a Columbus, Ohio, investment manager, opened a website Monday to give mutual funds and other partner firms the resources to help sales agents, principally financial advisers, develop retirement plan business.

Rydex Investments is offering a new fund of funds that offers exposure to the alternatives marketplace to individual investors.

Citadel Investment Group LLC has hired Patrick Edsparr to be its European CEO and global head of fixed income.

Citigroup has named John Havens as its new head of investment banking and alternative investments group.

Asset management firm Rampart Investment Management has named R. Dino Davis as vice president and product specialist.

Spitzer Resigns After Prostitution Scandal

Two former designers of sports cars and fighter airplanes have formed the hedge fund Solytix Capital, which focuses on quantitative analytics.

Target-date funds are helping average investors get the same type of service wealthy clients have traditionally had when it comes time to transition a retirement plan from being aggressive to a more conservative plan.

Fund.com Appoints Webster as President

Contrary to popular belief, contrarian funds don't bet against the stock market. They bet against mainstream trends and look for undervalued areas with strong potential.

Cutting edge technology has facilitated the unified managed account (UMA) becoming ubiquitous within the wealth management industry. Today multiple investment products such as separate accounts, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds can all peacefully co-exist, nestled together under a single client registration.

These days the concept of sustainability is a hot ticket into the world of socially responsible investing. Just last week, a trio of investment management firms announced plans to incorporate the components of sustainability investing into their product offerings.

On Sunday, Bear Stearns agreed to be purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase for $2 a share, or about $236 million. Bear's shares were going for $170 a year ago.J.P. Morgan said it would guarantee trading obligations of Bear Stearns and its subsidiaries.“J.P. Morgan Chase stands behind Bear Stearns,”said Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. “Bear Stearns’s clients and counterparties should feel secure that J.P. Morgan is guaranteeing Bear Stearns’s counterparty risk.”Using J.P. Morgan as an intermediary, the Federal Reserve invoked a Depression-era provision on Friday that would give troubled securities firm Bear Stearns access to emergency funding.Bear's shares fell 47% to $30 on the news Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling nearly 195 points. Bankers and officials scrambled to arrange a deal over the weekend before the markets opened Monday.Bear CEO Alan Schwartz said the deal "represents the best outcome for all of our constituencies based upon the current circumstances.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently suspended and fined two brokers with Wachovia Securities $250,000 each for their roles in a market-timing scheme that cost mutual fund shareholders hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, writes The Miami Herald.Thomas C. Bridge, 41, of Fort Lauderdale and James D. Edge, 46, of Lake Worth, both worked at Wachovia's Boca Raton office. Edge was Bridge's supervisor.According to Judge Brenda Murray, Bridge engaged in numerous market timing trades, prompting complaints from mutual fund companies. Instead of stopping Bridge, Edge helped him circumvent trading restrictions, including the use of multiple account numbers and broker ID numbers to hide transactions.Bridge has been suspended for a year and Edge has been suspended for 30 days, with the stipulation that he never be a supervisor again.The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

Prudential Financial has named former Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director Joseph Bill Jr. as vice president of global security. He will report to Chief Security Officer Lori Hennon-Bell, and will be responsible for domestic and international security and asset protection."We’re extremely pleased to welcome Joseph to Prudential’s security team,” said Joyce Leibowitz, senior vice president of Shared Services. “His experience and insight into international security further strengthens our ability to uphold the safety and security of our employees and stakeholders around the world.”During his 30-year career at the FBI, Billy served in a number of positions with the foreign counterintelligence program, the FBI/New York City Police Department's joint terrorism task force and most recently as assistant director in charge of the counterterrorism division in Washington, D.C.“Prudential is dedicated to protecting the company’s people and its assets, and Joseph’s impressive background and experience will help ensure that we can take our services to the next level,” said Hennon-Bell.

The Lincoln Financial Group has named Lisa Marie DeSimone to the position of vice president of corporate development, effective April 1. She was previously a senior vice president and senior financial services officer at Lincoln's affiliate Delaware Investments.DeSimone will report to Chief Financial Officer Fred Crawford and will be responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing merger, acquisition and divestiture activities."With her knowledge of Lincoln Financial and background in both the insurance and asset management industries, Lisa is an ideal fit for this position and will play an instrumental part in executing our growth strategy across business lines," said Crawford.DeSimone previously worked for Smith Barney/Citigroup, as well as the A.M. Best Company and The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. She has a bachelor's degree in finance from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.