Subject Root Tag

If the Securities and Exchange Commission approves a filing by DTCC, the not-for-profit clearing and settlement giant, best known for its work for the mutual fund industry, it will be able to do the same for separately managed accounts.

Wall Street marveled last week at how Bank of America's gargantuan purchase of FleetBoston Financial Corp. creates the second-largest bank in the United States. But little has been mentioned about how it will result in the fourth-largest fund complex in the country.

Despite the scandalous black cloud that has settled over the fund industry, several investment management companies are still happily shopping for appealing mutual fund complexes, or even a single fund or two.

NEW ORLEANS - Regulators at the Investment Company Institute's Operations Conference here, in the crescent city, said they will be focusing more on electronic communications and management's attitude towards internal controls as they go forward, in an attempt to be more proactive in examining firms' internal controls.

Barclays Offers First ETFs In a 401(k) Savings Plan

At least two fund groups have now experienced, firsthand, the impact of new requirements mandated with the enactment last year of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. That legislative enactment aimed, among other things, to stem corporate fraud and make top executives accountable for the accuracy of financial reporting.

Even with the recent scandal unfolding in the fund industry, the Mutual Fund Integrity and Fee Transparency Act of 2003 is heading for its twilight rather than the limelight, industry observers said.

New York State may have changed the way mutual fund companies compete in the 529 college savings plan market.

The downward pressure on 401(k) and other retirement plan balances over the past few years will mean problems for employers - but especially for the millions of workers who are ill-prepared to fund their retirement.

Those who have maintained the holier-than-thou attitude of the mutual fund industry and have believed that this scandal, too, shall pass, shouldn't kid themselves. It's time for the industry to turn in its halo.

It takes society 30 years to become comfortable with a new technology - be it steel plows, electric lights or video recorders. The device doesn't matter. By that standard, financial advisers are doing pretty well with separately managed accounts.

Insidious greed notwithstanding, corporate governance is the Achilles heel of U.S. public companies. The analyst research scandal, the collapse of Enron and WorldCom and alleged illegal trading practices in the mutual fund industry all could have been prevented had there been sound corporate governance teams in place.

A Baltimore court has reportedly ordered Legg Mason to pay newsletter publisher Lowry's Reports $20 million for sharing one paid $700 subscription to Lowry's Market Trend Analysis with more than 1,300 employees over the company's intranet.

Alliance Suspends Two in Fund Timing Investigation

Hedge funds have long been dampened by the perpetual rain cloud of suspicion looming overhead, but several in the industry see regulators' proposals last week requiring advisors to register as investment advisors with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a welcome ray of sunshine. Some even likened the proposals to a symbolic "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."

Not surprisingly in the asset management business these days, companies that once thought they could do it all are now returning to their core businesses and product lines.

The winds of change are sweeping the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as federal regulators look to overhaul the world's biggest marketplace.

Industry-wide late processing of mutual fund trades has some in the industry worried. The practice is commonplace and perfectly legal, so why the concern?

Ahhh, there's nothing like a good scandal to fuel additional prospectus disclosures being pushed out to financial advisers and investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new rule requiring mutual fund companies to provide more balanced information in their advertisements when promoting fund performance.