Lens v. Pioneer, round 2
From The Wall Street Journal
Lens Investment Management has filed a preliminary proxy statement calling for the sale of Pioneer and the election of four of its own nominees to Pioneer's board of directors. The activist-investment firm owns 4.1% of the Boston mutual-fund firm. The trouble arises from Pioneer's poor sales and its recent appointment of three new outside directors. In the proxy statement, Lens says that the firm has been hurt by misguided management decisions, and says an outright sale of the company is the best option.

Index mania
From TheStreet.com
Index funds continue to be all the rage. Next month, Rydex will launch four new leveraged funds next month keyed to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices. Filings with the SEC indicate they'll be aggressive, expensive and perfect for fast-trading market-timers. Two funds will bet long, two will bet short. Market-timers are sure to like the funds, which have free and unlimited trades.

Go abroad, young man
From The New York Times
After achieving great success in America, mutual fund companies are looking to expand abroad. "It's in the international markets, for all the companies, where the growth opportunities lie," says Maliz Beams, head of the international retail mutual funds for Scudder Kemper. One of the forces that will drive that growth is a change in retirement planning from old-style pensions to a more individual, 401(k)-like system. One stumbling block to overseas expansion are local tax codes, which generally block foreign investors from taking advantage of most American products. Many U.S. firms register their products in overseas, but those products are usually geared to wealthier investors. That leaves a potentially huge market of average-income people under-served. 

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