Compliance November 1, 2007

SEC Looks into Merrill’s Florida Pension Consultancy Practice

Merrill Lynch is under scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegations that its Florida consulting operation charged hidden fees and engaged in conflicts of interest, according to letters it sent to various pension boards in the state.
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According to the news report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Merrill works with about 100 public employee pension funds in the state. The company sent a letter to these boards on October 29 detailing the allegations with which it is faced.

The letter, according to the news report, said that the SEC has indicated it believes that Merrill Lynch and Mike Callaway, a senior vice president and the head of Merrill’s Florida consulting business, violated federal regulations.

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Callaway wrote a separate letter to clients that said SEC believes that “the firm and I did not tell you all of the relevant information about your fees, manager selection, alleged conflicts of interest and what I earned in connection with providing you with Consulting Services.”

Callaway has been put on a leave of absence, according to the news report.

Deals & People November 1, 2007

PNC Announces Acquisition of Albridge Solutions

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lawrenceville, New Jersey-based Albridge Solutions Inc., a provider of portfolio accounting and enterprise wealth management services.
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Through relationships with 150 financial institutions and more than 100,000 financial advisers with assets under management that exceed $1 trillion, Albridge delivers an aggregate, single view of clients’ assets along with robust performance reporting and analysis. The acquisition will increase the offerings of PFPC Worldwide Inc., PNC’s provider of global investment services.

Albridge provides financial advisers with consolidated client account information from hundreds of data sources, including mutual funds, managed accounts, banking, brokerage, insurance, retirement, and more. Upon closing of the acquisition agreement, the adviser information available from PFPC will provide asset managers and distributors with deeper insight into the adviser segments they are targeting, PNC said.

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“Albridge extends PFPC’s capabilities into the delivery of knowledge-based information services and our reach into the financial adviser market,” said Timothy G. Shack, chairman and chief executive officer, PFPC, in a press release. “This acquisition creates synergies with many PFPC businesses, including our industry-leading subaccounting services, our transfer agency services and related AdvisorCentral portal and our ADVISORport managed account platform. It creates a combined client base of financial advisers, many in the rapidly growing independent channel, that represents an important distribution avenue for PFPC’s asset manager and broker/dealer clients.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2008.

PFPC is a provider of processing, technology, and business solutions to the global investment industry. The firm offers subaccounting, transfer agency, managed account, alternative investment, fund accounting, administration, and custody services.

More information is at www.pfpc.com.

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