Week 25: 6/15/2009-6/19/2009
  by Jennifer Mann and Pamela Hill
The Barclays Global Investor iShares S&P Emerging Markets Infrastructure Index ETF (which launched on June 19, 2009) has contractually agreed to waive its management fees in an amount equal to the acquired fund fees and expenses incurred through June 30, 2011...Dreyfus registers the Dreyfus Premier Diversified Large Cap fund (a fund of funds with plans to create diversity by exposure to different large cap equity portfolio managers and investment styles)...Van Kampen files the Van Kampen Flexible Opportunities fund (which will not limit investment to any style, type of security, industry, sector, geography, or market cap)...The Vanguard Convertible Securities and Eaton Vance Capital & Income Strategies funds close to new and existing investors...Vanguard Developed Markets Index and Vanguard Institutional Developed Markets Index have completed their transition from investing directly in individual stocks and/or a combination of Vanguard mutual funds to investing substantially all of their assets directly in the common stocks of their target indexes...Principal funds modify CDSCs on certain purchases of Class A shares and also change sub-advisory fees for certain funds...Legg Mason reduces the amount of round trips considered to be frequent trading in their funds...Columbia, Jackson National, Nationwide, Reich & Tang, Virtus, and YieldQuest liquidate funds...   MORE>>


Week 24: 6/8/2009-6/12/2009
  by Jennifer Mann and Pamela Hill
Grail registers four ETFs...Fidelity files a target-date series (Fidelity Freedom Index series), along with filing the Fidelity Commodity Return, Fidelity Series Commodity Return, Fidelity Series Global ex-U.S. Index, and Fidelity Series Inflation Protected Bond Index funds...Certain John Hancock funds will change their 12b-1 Plans from reimbursement to compensation plans...The Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Bond fund will increase the total operating expense cap this fall for Institutional Class shares...The Allegiant Limited Maturity Bond fund has modified its CDSC on Class A purchases of $1 million or more and reduced its finder's fee to dealers, and the Allegiant Ultra Short Bond fund will no longer impose a CDSC on Class A purchases of $1 million or more and will no longer pay a finder's fee to dealers...Dreyfus and Federated plan to liquidate funds...SSgA Funds Management will no longer sub-advise the Calvert Social Investment Enhanced Equity fund...The Virtus Wealth Builder and Virtus Wealth Guardian funds may introduce F-Squared Investments as sub-advisor...The Epoch U.S. Large Cap Equity, MGI US Large Cap Growth Equity, and MGI US Large Cap Value Equity modify their definition of large cap companies, and the RidgeWorth Small Cap Value Equity redefines small cap companies...    MORE>>


Week 23: 6/1/2009-6/5/2009
  by Jennifer Mann and Pamela Hill
The Fidelity U.S. Bond Index fund approved changes to its expense structure...Certain State Street Global ETFs add a maximum additional variable fee for cash creations/redemptions...PIMCO registers six US Treasury ETFs (along with the registration of the PIMCO Real Return 2019 and PIMCO Real Return 2029 funds)...The Vanguard Treasury Money Market fund will reorganize into the Vanguard Admiral Treasury Money Market fund...Jennifer Uhrig will be replaced by Sonu Kalra in managing the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth fund...Duane Huff will join the portfolio management team of the JPMorgan Core Plus Bond fund...The PIMCO/Allianz OCC Renaissance (after making both a sub-advisory relationship change and name change) will change its strategy focus to small to medium cap undervalued companies (previously, undervalued companies with improving business fundamentals)...The Rydex Multi-Hedge Strategies (formerly, Rydex Absolute Return Strategies) revises its strategy to seek long-term capital appreciation with less risk than traditional equity funds (where previously it sought to provide capital appreciation consistent with the return and risk characteristics of the hedge fund universe)...The SEI SIIT Real Return Plus fund will change its name to the Real Return fund, and with the removal of the word "Plus" from its name, the fund will remove the alpha overlay strategy...The week had a number of  sub-advisory relationship changes...   MORE>>