Law and regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved new rules to significantly enhance the level of information companies are required to provide shareholders in proxy statements, but many leaders worry that these changes will do little more than add to the expenses that shareholders pay.

In an effort to alleviate investor anxiety, fixed-income guru Bill Gross has taken over daily responsibility of four of Pacific Investment Management Co.’s close-end bond funds.

New York-based American International Group Inc. scored a victory in California Superior Court after a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a financial planner.

Fidelity International has named Arne Lindman as president and CEO of its Asia Pacific operations.

Industry groups across the independent advisory channel expressed approval over a proposed rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would exclude advisors whose only access to client funds is to deduct fees from surprise audits. The groups insist, however, that they are waiting to see the final rule – due out in several days at the earliest – before making any judgments.

Putnam Investments announced Wednesday that its suite of target Absolute Return Funds has surpassed $1 billion in assets, less than a year after they were launched.

A pension fund has sued Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for its use of bonuses to employees during the first nine months of the year. The lawsuit was filed in state court in New York.

TD Waterhouse has become the first execution only brokerage firm in the U.K. to offer its investors holding their shares in nominee form the right to receive proxy materials and vote electronically.

Armed with a slew of wealth management veterans who chose to jump ship from U.S. Trust after it was acquired by Bank of America, Evercore Wealth Management has nearly doubled its assets under management to $1.4 billion in the past six months, but if that wasn't already impressive, the New York company's top executive expects to nearly quadruple that and reach $5 billion in the next five years.

The financial services industry has been pulling in solid profits lately, but experts say firms should be mindful about how they dole out year-end bonuses and to keep the focus on rewarding long-term performance.

Since the stock market decline a year ago, there has been much talk of permanent decrease in investors' risk tolerance. Many investors' losses were staggering, goes the refrain, so their tolerance for risk will, for the foreseeable future if not a generation, be substantially lower.

Many financial service companies were only able to survive last year's recession by slashing staff and utilizing automated technology solutions to support customers, advisers, salespeople and their remaining workers.

BOSTON - As tax experts at mutual fund companies hurry to prepare their fund accounting systems before newly mandated changes to federal cost-basis reporting rules take effect, they are finding they could use a little help and guidance from the government.

When the Roman Empire was first expanding, regulators noticed an annoying problem: Due to increasing traffic, chariots were leaving grooves in the stone roads, but the gauge - the distance between the wheels - varied according to region. Different sized chariots didn't fit in the grooves. Julius Caesar had a solution: international standardization.

Even before the global economic crisis, financial firms faced unprecedented pressure to find new ways to leverage technology to streamline operations, reduce risk and improve cash flow management. But today more than ever, firms are turning to technology to compete more effectively in the markets.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida - Mutual fund boards are grappling with their increasingly expanding roles as risk overseers, management coaches and shareholder advocates as the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to add new rules and raise its expectations, including the creation last week of the Division of Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida - With the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers finally in the rearview mirror and the economy on the way to recovery, many participants in the financial services industry are questioning whether the industry still needs to undergo substantial regulatory change, and what changes, if any, could be beneficial at this point.

We just published the results from kasina's 2009 Sales Compensation study. Compiling the data was a lengthy, arduous and enlightening process. As you would expect, data reveal that quantum changes have taken hold since our last Sales Comp study in 2007. More interesting to me than the data itself, though, is that only a minority of firms are making special and determined efforts to take care of their top salespeople.

Mutual fund advocates are rallying together in preparation for a key Supreme Court battle this fall that could drastically change the way fund companies structure their fees.

Regulators are looking for ways to increase accounting safeguards for investment advisors who have custody of client assets, but an investment advisor's group says some of the proposed changes are too broad and go too far.