Bragging rights
From TheStreet.com
Kinetics Asset Management, the Internet fund's adviser, and Ryan Jacob, its former manager are fighting over how long Jacob actually managed the fund. The dispute is set around the 530% return the fund racked up during the 18 months from December 1997 through June 1999, when Jacob left the fund. Jacob plans to use these numbers to help jump-start the internet fund that he plans to start this fall. The fund's prospectus says Jacob took over the Internet fund in December 1997. But Peter Doyle, Kinetics' chairman, says Jacob is lying and didn't have investment discretion until March of 1998.

A Bogle v. Brennan fight?
From Barron's
A public-relations nightmare? That's the way one source in Barron's describes the recent speculation that Vanguard's John Brennan wants founder John Bogle to retire from the fund company's board. The article may throw further fuel on the flames that erupted last week by quoting Bogle as stating that "That's an iffy question" in response to whether he would name Brennan if he had to make the choice of successor over again. The article explains that one area irking Bogle is the company's increased ad spending. What's Bogle's next move? The article claims that Vanguard is planning to unveil a new business plan with an ongoing role for Bogle in September.

Reader's Digest gets into Asian fund business
From The Wall Street Journal
On Aug. 10, Reader's Digest magazine purchased Benchmark Ltd., a 21,000-circulation magazine that writes specifically about Asian mutual funds. Reader's Digest, published by Pleasantville, N.Y.-based Reader's Digest Association, has a five-million-strong Asian readership base, and fund companies are now keeping a watchful eye to see whether the publisher can get them interested in funds. This will not be an easy task. Fewer than 5% of households in Asia -- aside from the markets of Japan and Taiwan -- own mutual funds, according to industry estimates.

Being at the right place at the right time
From The Boston Globe
Francois Sicart's Tocqueville International Value fund was in the wrong place at a bad time when it started loading up on depressed Asian shares, in 1997. During 1998, Sicart increased the fund's Asian exposure from 20% assets to 70% -- but it was still not the right time. This year, the timing was different. The fund was the top-performing diversified international fund for the 12-month period ended June 30, with a total return of 56.98%. Its 30.65% return for the second quarter topped its peer group for that period as well.

Can Vanguard keep it up?
From The Institutional Investor
Jack Brennan, the Vanguard Group chairman, is featured on the cover of the Institutional Investor as the company is highlighted and asked if it can stay the course. Last year, Vanguard grew four times faster than its nearest mutual fund competitor, according to Boston-based Financial Research Corp., taking in a record $48.9 billion of net new money. It has also gained on Fidelity Investments. Its Vanguard 500 Index Fund is expected to surpass Fidelity's Magellan, now closed to most outside investors, as the world's largest fund within a year.  

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