Bad atmosphere on Jupiter
From FTMarketwatch.com
Jupiter, Commerzbank AG’s British fund managers, has been rocked by the departure of the group’s high-profile founder, John Duffield, at least five other directors, and fears of a mass exodus. Sources close to Duffield told FTMarketWatch he intends to sue the bank for wrongful dismissal and then set up a rival funds management operation. In response, Commerzbank is expected to spend as much as 50 million pounds on incentive packages to keep its managers. Financial advisers contacted by FTMarketWatch said the departures raised doubts about Jupiter’s future performance.

X.com giveth, X.com taketh away
From Morningstar
There's no such thing as as a free lunch. Last fall, X.com offered to pay people one basis point to invest in its Premier S&P Index fund. X.com founder Elon Musk vowed to offer the lowest-cost S&P 500 fund, and said he would subsidize the fund indefinitely. Only six months later, X.com has stopped that payment AND imposed a fee of 0.28% of assets to cover the fund's operating expenses. According to X.com spokesman, the fund isn't free anymore, "but it is still the cheapest S&P fund you can get."

Index, unabated
From The Wall Street Journal
Now that the bulls are taking a rest, index funds no longer look like a guaranteed winner. As a result, they're capturing less money. Index funds took in 11.9% of mutual fund money in the first four months of the year, compared to 46% for same period last year. But many firms think the low cost of index funds still makes them a good buy. In October, Citifunds will launch a line of 15 no-load index funds. Merrill Lynch is planning to roll out more index funds later this year. And TIAA-CREF recently started an index that tracks the Russell 3000. 

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