Jack Bowers

Question: What are the prospects for my stock in Charles Schwab Corp.? Answer: You don't need to "Ask Chuck" to know that the deep economic downturn and bear market in stocks weren't kind to brokerage firms. Fees dropped as asset values plunged and investors fled any kind of risk. Because the Federal Reserve dropped short-term interest rates to near zero, Schwab, like other firms that manage mutual funds, has had to waive fees on its money market funds to avoid losses for investors.

Question: What are the prospects for my stock in Charles Schwab Corp.? Answer: You don't need to "Ask Chuck" to know that the deep economic downturn and bear market in stocks weren't kind to brokerage firms. Fees dropped as asset values plunged and investors fled any kind of risk. Because the Federal Reserve dropped short-term interest rates to near zero, Schwab, like other firms that manage mutual funds, has had to waive fees on its money market funds to avoid losses for investors.

Fidelity Investments is the world's largest mutual fund company. It sends customers and the media regular newsletters and other information about its managers and offerings, but it rarely allows its money managers to speak directly to the media. As a result, there tends to be less independent information about Fidelity than about other fund companies.

Fidelity Investments is the world's largest mutual fund company. It sends customers and the media regular newsletters and other information about its managers and offerings, but it rarely allows its money managers to speak directly to the media. As a result, there tends to be less independent information about Fidelity than about other fund companies.

Loral Corp. offered Friday to buy Sanders Associates Inc. for about $863 million, but Sanders said the offer from the smaller electronic-warfare equipment company was inadequate. Both companies make sophisticated electronic gear for the military. Sanders is one-third bigger, with revenue of $886 million in its last fiscal year, compared to $664 million for Loral. Sanders stock skyrocketed past Loral's $44-per-share offer, rising to $50.50 a share from $15.

The mutual fund industry probe by New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer apparently cost another executive his job Monday: Phoenix-based Security Trust Co., one of the companies implicated in Spitzer's investigation, said Chief Executive Grant D. Seeger resigned. Separately, Fidelity Investments, the largest U.S. fund firm, said that it had received a subpoena from Spitzer and that it was cooperating with the probe.

Fidelity Investments' Magellan Fund increased its controversial bet on U.S. bonds in February, just before the market suffered its worst one-day rout in more than eight years, a monthly report to holders Wednesday shows. Magellan manager Jeff Vinik raised the fund's bond holdings to 19.4% of the $56.2-billion portfolio at the end of February from 18.9% in January, the report says. The timing could not have been much worse.

The technology stock sector has performed so well for so long that few investors today would question whether to own tech. It's only a question of how big your portfolio's tech stake should be. With technology stock mutual funds the best-performing domestic stock fund sector in the first half of 1999--up 34.4% on average--some investors might be tempted to chase after one of the 50 or so funds that specialize in tech shares. But wait: It's possible you already own plenty of tech stocks.

A little more than a year ago, Robert Pozen was asked to plug several leaks in the mighty mutual-fund dam known as Fidelity Investments. The company was perceived to be suffering from flagging performance, rapid manager turnover and various other problems that suggested it was being insensitive to shareholders. The choice of Pozen, an attorney, to replace Gary Burkhead as the president of Fidelity's money-management arm seemed curious.

Lockheed's $1.2-billion bid for Sanders Associates overcame a potential hurdle Monday when Loral Corp. announced that it was "discontinuing" its offer for Sanders. Loral had made a hostile $50-per-share offer for Sanders before Lockheed topped the East Coast electronics firm last Wednesday with a $60-per-share bid. Bernard L.

Mutual fund companies long have encouraged people to place their money in individual retirement accounts and other tax-sheltered vehicles. Now, industry leader Fidelity Investments is dangling a very specific type of carrot in front of potential buyers by waiving sales charges of up to 3% on certain stock funds purchased for retirement accounts. Fidelity's load-waiver offer is a good deal for investors who like the company's funds but aren't willing to pay a sales charge.