Merrill Lynch Investment Managers prez Brian Murdock and COO Peter Gibbs say that although the worldwide transition from defined benefit to defined contribution plans will benefit Merrill, Japan's pension reform still appears murky. In fact, Murdock told Reuters, "I think you'll see surprisingly little movement over the next year or so." He added that Merrill believes that Britain's DC market prospects outweigh those of Japan.



Axa has frozen US hiring as it seeks to cut costs. Chief Executive Henri de Castries told Bloomberg News that the move is part of an effort to offset falling sales.



David Viniar, Goldman's CFO, has been selling 25 million dollars worth of Goldman shares incrementally on a daily basis, the New York Times reported. Viniar stated that his sale is related to personal reasons and in no ways reflects lowered expectations for the firm. According to a notice filed with the S.E.C., 39 Goldman insiders (including Viniar) will sell 1.5 million shares over the next three months. Goldman will buy back shares to compensate for insider sales and the delivery of six million compensation-based shares to employees.



Nomura is preparing to launch ETFs that will track the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices next week, reports Reuters. Nomura believes that the Japanese ETF market will balloon to one trillion yen as individual investors clamor to buy shares.



North Fork Bancorp has hired third-party marketer Essex Corp. as part of an attempt to more than double investment revenue to $20 million by 2004, reports the American Banker. The bank's Compass Investment Services sells nonproprietary mutual funds and other financial products through 31 reps in its branches.



Brown Brothers Harriman, Ireland, announced that it has been selected as a sub custodian of SEI's Global Master Fund, a manger of manager fund that uses 35 investment managers and has 1 billion dollars in assets primarily based in the U.K. and South Africa.



After acquiring Borel Bank & Trust, a northern California based private bank, Boston Private is on the prowl again for wealth management companies in an attempt to create regionally based wealth management services for the affluent, reports the Boston Herald. Attractive markets include: New York City; Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Atlanta. 

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