Mutual funds

In the face of the nation's financial crisis, our industry has shown tremendous cooperation and fortitude, and we have its top leaders and trade association to especially thank for the sound direction they have so rapidly given to investors and the federal government in recent days.

CHICAGO - It often takes an economic crisis before firms really start thinking about risk management.

NEW YORK - Fee-based independent advisers, so far, are winning the retirement income race, beating out mutual fund companies, brokerages and insurance firms in the quest to conquer the 77 million Baby Boomers' estimated $17 trillion in retirement savings and total $90 trillion net worth.

The Department of the Treasury opened its money market mutual fund guarantee program Monday and provided details on how the $50 billion program, designed to stem a run on the $3.4 trillion money market fund industry, will work.

Tax-exempt money market funds began recovering some of the nearly $30 billion of outflows they suffered in the past seven days, but market participants say there's still a feeling of queasiness among traders and investors in the midst of a disconnect between municipal and Treasury securities as the government bailout program unfolds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has created a nearly $32 million fair fund distribution to help current and former customers of Ameriprise Financial Services who were harmed by the company’s failure to disclose revenue sharing payments.

The Royal Bank of Canada has pledged $35 million to help cover clients invested in a money market mutual fund that recently broke the buck, Reuters reports.

Responding to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s temporary ban on short selling in hopes of helping to stabilize the markets, Vanguard and Bank of America’s Columbia Funds have stopped lending securities to such traders, The Boston Globe reports.

One of the biggest arguments against the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street’s bad debt is that by having the government clean up investment houses’ balance sheets, the same firms that caused the problem might make outsized profits in helping the government assess the debt, the New York Times reports.

TD Ameritrade announced Wednesday that it will kick in an additional $50 million to support investors in Reserve Funds’ Primary Fund, whose net asset value fell to 97 cents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an enforcement action Tuesday against AmSouth Bank and AmSouth Asset Management for defrauding the AmSouth mutual funds by using a portion of administrative fees that shareholders paid for marketing and other unrelated expenses that should have been paid out of the investment advisor’s coffers. Those expenses included the salary, bonus, benefits and country club membership of the president of the AmSouth Funds.

Minnesota U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson has decided to expedite Ameriprise Financial’s lawsuit against Reserve Funds’ Primary Fund. The court will fast-track the discovery of documents and other supporting information.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is planning its next CCOutreach seminar for Nov. 13 at its Washington headquarters.

Sallie Krawcheck, the chief executive officer and chairman of Citi Global Wealth Management, is set to leave the firm, according to a statement from Citigroup, the parent company.

The labor supply may experience shortages in coming years as more Baby Boomers retire, according to a study by KPMG.

FRC Founder Bathon Forms New Company

Former Prudential Broker Pleads Guilty to Timing

Shareholders filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Reserve Funds' Primary Fund for halting redemption of holdings of $10,000 or more on Tuesday due to the fund falling to 97 cents on the dollar.

Investors began a run on The Reserve's Primary Fund last Monday when Lehman's bankruptcy news made them fearful about the money market funds' $785 million exposure to the investment bank's previously blue-chip commercial paper and medium-term notes that had fallen to zero value.

Fidelity Investments reached agreements with New York and Massachusetts officials to buy back at par $300 million of auction-rate securities from its customers by the end of the year, becoming the first retail brokerage firm to settle alleged fraudulent sales practices in the ARS market.