Franklin reshuffles offices
From The Wall Street Journal
Franklin Resources Inc. said it is reshuffling the executive structure in order to create a succession plan for the firm in the event of retirement by 66-year-old chief executive Charles B. Johnson. The company is creating a three-person Office of the Chairman and a four-person Office of the President. In particular, the moves promote Johnson's two eldest sons and the company's chief-financial officer, Martin Flanagan. Analysts say the three are the top candidates to succeed the patriarch Johnson. Industry observers, however, have long been skeptical of the younger Johnsons' ability to succeed the elder.

Hancock pays out more than expected
From The Boston Globe
John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. said it will spend a total of $713 million, at least one-third more than originally anticipated, to settle a 1995 class-action lawsuit over questionable insurance sales practices. The sum is more than twice the $350 million in benefits that the insurer agreed in 1997 to pay to nearly 4 million policyholders nationwide to settle the case. That smaller figure, used by both Hancock and state officials in the past to characterize the minimum financial burden that Hancock would shoulder from the case but did not include administrative expenses and underestimated total costs.

Skyline merges funds
From TheStreet.com
After experiencing significant outflows Skyline Asset Management wants its flagship fund -- Special Equities fund -- to absorb its two other no-load funds, Small Cap Value Plus and the barely 1-year-old Small Cap Contrarian, according to a proxy filed Monday with the SEC. Skyline is among the 50% of all fund companies that are experiencing net outflows this year, according to Financial Research. As of Sept. 30, the three Skyline retail funds had $384.4 million in assets, and investors had withdrawn $147 million more than they'd invested in 1999, according to a Skyline spokeswoman. The mergers are expected to happen next February, pending shareholder approval.  

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