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INDUSTRY NEWS APR 16, 2007
TIAA-CREF stages 529 comeback

TIAA-CREF wants to be a contender in the Section 529 college savings plan business — again.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION APR 16, 2007
Fund group says rule review could have merit

The radical notion of abolishing mutual fund boards and allowing funds to set their own prices may be worth a second look, according to the head of a group representing independent fund directors for the $10.4 trillion fund industry.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 16, 2007
The smallest 529 plan weighs consolidation

NEW YORK — The nation’s smallest Section 529 college savings plan — Tennessee’s BEST Savings Plan in Nashville, which has less than $40 million in assets and is managed by New York-based TIAA-CREF — soon may become the second state to transfer its 529 plan assets to a neighboring state.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION APR 16, 2007
Obama, Clinton call for investigation into LTC abuses

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are calling for investigations into alleged long-term-care-insurance abuses just as the government is set to release its latest survey, showing a 97% satisfaction rate among policy claimants.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION APR 16, 2007
NASD still tinkering with VA suitability rule

IRVINE, Calif. — NASD continues to tinker with a pending variable annuity suitability rule, making a fourth proposed change in almost two years.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 16, 2007
Niche planners target low- to moderate-income market

NEW YORK — Conventional wisdom holds that it isn’t profitable to work with the low- to moderate-income market, but financial advisers across the country are developing business models that fly in the face of that supposed truism.

By Bloomberg
WIREHOUSES APR 16, 2007
Morgan Stanley wins reps over

A year after taking over retail at Morgan Stanley — amid much skepticism — James Gorman has made believers out of most of the firm’s troops.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 16, 2007
Court setbacks add to Ontario commission’s woes

OTTAWA — The Ontario Securities Commission is playing catch-up after a slew of embarrassing court decisions that have led to a spate of negative editorials and op-ed articles.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 16, 2007
Firm aims to mold brokers into uber-reps

SAN FRANCISCO — In a world of broker-dealers that are out to poach financial advisers with large books of business, Scott Householder takes a different tack that feels like tough love to his representatives.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION APR 09, 2007
Regulatory sins haunt Christ Investment Service

The National Futures Association suspended Christ Investment Service LLC, a San Francisco-based introducing broker, for allegedly illegally acting as a futures commission merchant and as a counterparty to foreign currency transactions, according to the association.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION APR 09, 2007
CIT student loan executives placed on leave

CIT Group Inc. said Monday that it placed three top executives at its Student Loan Xpress unit on leave just days after the companies were subpoenaed by New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in his ongoing probe of the $85 billion student loan industry.

By Bloomberg
MUTUAL FUNDS APR 09, 2007
Let competition, not boards, set advisory fees

Abolishing the role of mutual fund boards of directors in approving advisory expense ratios would lead to more competition in mutual fund fees, according to a book released in Washington today.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 09, 2007
Scaturro’s exit from U.S. Trust leaves B of A holding the bag

Peter Scaturro’s impending departure as chief executive of U.S. Trust has left Bank of America Corp., the venerable wealth manager’s prospective new owner, with a big mess on its hands.

By Bloomberg
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 09, 2007
Annuity, fund sales flat at banks, notes study

Fee income from variable and fixed annuities, and mutual funds, sold by banks declined by 0.6% last year to $19.33 billion, from $19.46 billion in 2005, according to a recent study.

By Bloomberg
BROKER DEALERS APR 09, 2007
United Securities sticks former brokers with tail E&O bill

Brokers who left United Securities Alliance Inc. before its March 1 acquisition by Royal Alliance Associates Inc. received a letter from United’s lawyers last month that contained a surprise: They owe United $5,000.

By Bloomberg
FINTECH APR 09, 2007
Fundamental differences over Schwab funds

Charles R. Schwab last week called the fundamental indexes underlying his company’s three newest mutual funds “a better mousetrap,” but The Vanguard Group Inc. and Barclays Global Investors smell a rat.

By Bloomberg
OPINION APR 09, 2007
Ruling acknowledges emergence of an industry

As reported here last week, a federal appeals court has struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s broker-dealer exemption, stating that the commission lacks the authority to grant brokers broad exceptions to rules that apply to investment advisers.

By Bloomberg
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 09, 2007
CPA touts 6.6% sustainable retirement withdrawal rate

NEW YORK — Financial advisers can safely increase their clients’ retirement income by 50% or more by structuring withdrawals differently, according to a certified public accountant who specializes in retirement income planning.

By Bloomberg
BROKER DEALERS APR 09, 2007
Raymond James & Associates lands bigger producers

NEW YORK — Raymond James & Associates Inc. recruited 36 registered representatives during the first quarter, compared with the 43 reps hired during the year-earlier period.

By Bloomberg
INDUSTRY NEWS APR 09, 2007
Ontario won’t put its stamp on passport system

OTTAWA — The gambit by the Canadian Securities Administrators to get Ontario involved in a new, improved passport system of regulation led to a stalemate when the Ontario Securities Commission said: Nothing doing.

By Bloomberg