Bullard Calls for More Fee Disclosure
From TheStreet.com
Former SEC commissioner turned watchdog Mercer Bullard claims explains the difference between the SEC's fee study which found rising fees and that of the ICI which found that fund fees declined to 135 basis points in 1998 from 226 in 1980. The ICI's methodology, he argues, is questionable. He argues that by weighting fees by fund sales the trade group is revealing "investor decisions to buy lower-cost funds -- not fee reductions by funds." He then argues that the one thing all can agree on is that economies of scale are not being passed on to investors (overlooking the obvious fact that larger funds would benefit from economies, not smaller funds). He points out that the SEC failed to find many large funds using breakpoints. Nineteen of 100 funds looked at by the SEC have no breakpoint. Another 55 manage assets at levels that exceed the highest breakpoint.

T. Rowe's Hagstrom Pens Fourth Book
From Wall Street Journal
T Robert Hagstrom, the manager of the Legg Mason Value Trust fund who is on a ten-year winning streak against the S&P 500, wants people to look beyond the financial pages to something like Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. The article highlights his new book, Latticework: The New Investing.

MuhlenKamp Fund
From Wall Street Journal
Ron Muhlenkamp, manager of the Muhlenkamp Fund, is profiled in today's paper. His trick? He starts with consumers' spending habits. Quote: "I just stay tuned and let the public tell me which way the market is going," he said. "As soon as I start predicting, it gets expensive."

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