Subject Root Tag

It doesn't happen very often. But when independent directors who sit on mutual fund boards become the focus of criminal allegations, lawsuits, investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission or public scrutiny, fund companies and their boards of directors often find they must make an important decision. Should they ask the trustee to resign or stay the course?

The downfall of Enron of Houston evidently has not caused some retirement plan participants to be wary of how much they have invested in their company's stock, according to a recent survey by Boston Research Group of Hopkinton, Mass.

What does it take to find a financial advisor well versed in 529 plans and other college savings vehicles?

Transamerica Retirement Services, a Los Angeles-based retirement services provider that specializes in small to mid-sized companies, has found that smaller companies are moving faster than anticipated to help their employees take advantage of increased retirement plan contribution limits set forth in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.

Just weeks after Merrill Lynch of New York settled a case with the State of New York to improve its disclosure of business dealings with the companies it analyzes, the New York investment and banking firm faces a smattering of lawsuits.

AIM Management may not yearn to be the next Donald Trump. But the Houston fund group is taking the plunge into the small but expanding world of closed-end real estate funds.

When UBS Global Asset Management of New York agreed to license Chicago-based Morningstar's new family of style-based stock indexes as the basis for new U.S. and European exchange-traded funds, the investment manager bought more than a new type of index. They bought the Morningstar name.

Mutual funds that are used specifically as investments of variable annuities will now follow disclosure rules more in line with the rest of the fund world.

Two top executives with Kinetics Asset Management have left the White Plains, N.Y., fund group best known for its once high-flying Internet fund. Kinetics' former chief executive officer and chief operating officer have spun off a new alternative investment advisory firm and registered the first of several novel open-end mutual funds that will employ various alternative investment strategies.

Mergers and acquisitions among investment advisor firms have decreased dramatically this year, which should surprise no one. But the more telling statistic is the precipitous drop in the value of the deals - down 83% this year from record levels in 2000.

Are mutual fund firms that develop managed account products competing with themselves? Yes and no, according to industry executives.

Hartford Life of Hartford, Conn., is expanding its 401(k) small-business operations, a niche that has been largely ignored by many other retirement savings plan providers. So far, the strategy has worked for Hartford Life. It expanded its 401(k) business by 55% in 2001, with sales of $850 million.

Tocqueville Asset Management of New York has a voracious appetite. As part of an effort to grow its $2.2 billion in assets to $3 billion over the next six months, the firm has been actively acquiring mutual funds.

Touchstone Securities announced last week that Patrick Bannigan has joined the firm as senior vice president and officer in charge of Touchstone Investments. In that role, he will be responsible for the sales and profitability of the Touchstone Funds, including the firm's variable annuities.

Rydex Funds has launched a sector rotation fund into the teeth of a market still skeptical about sector funds after the carnage of the past two years.

ORLANDO - Be prepared to get to know your Securities and Exchange Commission compliance officers better. The SEC plans on making longer and, perhaps, more frequent compliance examinations.

Mutual fund and alternative investment advisors alike have been racing to attract wealthy clients with a rash of new hedge funds over the past year.

Timing is everything.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate last week reviewed two 401(k) reform bills that now include provisions designed to make it easier for investors to get advice about their retirement plans.

The U.S. Department of Justice's felony indictment of March 14, which charged Arthur Andersen with obstruction of justice in the federal investigation of Enron, may be causing fund advisers and their boards of directors to take pause and more carefully consider the auditing process for their funds. That is true even where fund groups have never utilized Andersen to audit their funds.