TIAA-CREF Unit Adds Four: The Advisor Services unit of TIAA-CREF, a major pension provider and financial services concern said that it has added four executives.
Former Paragon Life vice president Brian Peterson has been named senior insurance consultant, and will guide TIAA-CREF advisors in providing client insurance solutions.
Deana Riley joined the company in the capacity of relationship manager with broker/dealers. While Matthew Haas and Derrick Paige will serve TIAA-CREF advisors who want to utilize 529 college savings plans.
Report - Mutual funds dying off at record rate: While the number of funds has quadrupled since 1990, a record number of mutual funds have gone the way of the dodo bird since the bear market began in March 2000, according to mutual fund tracker Morningstar.
Morningstar data showed that 414 stock mutual funds have been liquidated (sold all their holdings and distributed the proceeds to investors) during the past two years, according to a reports. That number represents half of the liquidations in Morningstar’s database, which covers 4,074 stock funds. Another 566 stock funds merged into other funds, the
report said.
If you count multiple share classes for the same funds, the number of stock funds merged or liquidated rises to 1,741, compared to 1,672 before the bear market began, according to the report. Among the reasons cited were lack of interest from investors, mergers with more successful funds, failed concepts, tiny sectors, and bad sellers.
Top Money Managers Named: Thomson Financial, in New York, released Nelson Information’s World’s Best Money Managers rankings for the second quarter of 2002. The quarterly ranking is based on the performance of 1,500 money managers and more than 4,500 portfolios in 200 categories and 40 investment styles and time periods. The No. 1 ranked firms in four of the nearly 40 asset classes are:
• International Equity: Lazard Asset Management, Lazard European Technical Opportunities, with a 2nd quarter return of 34.8 percent.
• International Fixes Income: Bridgewater Associates, with a 16.3 percent return.
• U.S. Equity: Lang Asset Management, Hedged Managed Accounts, with a 16.66 percent return.
• U.S. Fixed Income: Singleterry & Co., Singleterry Mortgage Fund, 17 percent return. For the complete listing, go to
Thomson Financial and Accounting Today are both part of the Thomson Corp.
Board Named to Oversee Global CFP Certification Program: The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and a joint committee of the International CFP Council, an international assembly of financial planning bodies, have named nine people to serve on the inaugural board of a proposed new international entity that will administer the CFP certification program worldwide.
The four international directors are Raymond Griffin, CFP (Australia), chair-elect, International CFP Council and past-chair, Financial Planning Association of Australia; John S. Carpenter, past-chair, Financial Planners Standards Council, Canada; Nicolas R.A. Koechlin, CFP (Switzerland), CEO, Swiss Financial Planners Organization; and Ian A. Middleton, CFP (South Africa), president, Financial Planning Institute of South Africa.
Rounding out the board are five U.S. directors: CFP board chair Elaine E. Bedel, CFP; board members Joanne A. Bickel, CFP, and Maureen M. Tsu, CFP; CEO Louis J. Garday; and past-chair, Timothy S. Kochis, CFP.
"The time has come to take the CFP marks to a new level globally, and this board of directors will set policies for and oversee a rapidly evolving international CFP certification program," said Patricia P. Houlihan, CFP, chair of the International CFP Council and selection committee.
Five of the board seats were allocated to the United States, three to international candidates and the final seat will be filled each year by the current council chair, beginning with Griffin in 2003. The task force that is charged with developing the entity, which is expected to launch in early 2003, is working on structure, staffing, affiliation agreements and certification program operations.
