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State ditches college plan management company
By The Associated Press
Friday, November 14, 2003 | 1 comment(s)
PORTLAND - A state board has terminated Strong Capital Management's contract to manage the Oregon College Saving Plan.
Strong has been named by regulators in revelations of wrongdoing in the mutual fund industry. The board that oversees Oregon's tax-advantaged savings plans voted to end the contract Thursday at a special meeting in Portland.
State Treasurer Randall Edwards told the board he chairs that investors are confused and wondering whether they should pull their funds out of the plan, which allows parents or grandparents to invest in mutual funds while children are young and later withdraw the investments tax-free to pay for college.
Edwards entered into the record 85 letters and e-mails from investors who are worried about their investments with Strong, a Menomonee Falls, Wis., mutual fund company with $42 billion in assets.
Oregonians have opened 26,000 accounts and invested $134 million in the Oregon College Savings Plan options managed by Strong. That money would be automatically transferred to similar-style accounts in a new plan.
The new plan, which should be in place within two to five months, likely would contain no-load mutual funds from several companies under one management umbrella. No-load means no commissions are paid to advisers who recommend a plan or fund. The new no-load plan could be administered by one of the two other managers Oregon already employs who operate on commission; or it could be an entirely new company.
In discussing reasons for severing ties with Strong, Edwards said he thought the trust Oregon placed in Strong had been breached "up to the CEO level."
Strong's founder and chief executive, Richard Strong, is alleged to have made market-timed trades in his own funds that skimmed $600,000 in profits from other investors.
Two other states, Nevada and Wisconsin, use Strong as a college plan manager. Strong said Thursday it still represents those states.
Although losses to investors are estimated to be minimal, Oregon wants partners it can trust for the long term and needs a management firm that won't be distracted by the scandal, Edwards said.
Strong has been named by regulators in revelations of wrongdoing in the mutual fund industry. The board that oversees Oregon's tax-advantaged savings plans voted to end the contract Thursday at a special meeting in Portland.
State Treasurer Randall Edwards told the board he chairs that investors are confused and wondering whether they should pull their funds out of the plan, which allows parents or grandparents to invest in mutual funds while children are young and later withdraw the investments tax-free to pay for college.
Edwards entered into the record 85 letters and e-mails from investors who are worried about their investments with Strong, a Menomonee Falls, Wis., mutual fund company with $42 billion in assets.
Oregonians have opened 26,000 accounts and invested $134 million in the Oregon College Savings Plan options managed by Strong. That money would be automatically transferred to similar-style accounts in a new plan.
The new plan, which should be in place within two to five months, likely would contain no-load mutual funds from several companies under one management umbrella. No-load means no commissions are paid to advisers who recommend a plan or fund. The new no-load plan could be administered by one of the two other managers Oregon already employs who operate on commission; or it could be an entirely new company.
In discussing reasons for severing ties with Strong, Edwards said he thought the trust Oregon placed in Strong had been breached "up to the CEO level."
Strong's founder and chief executive, Richard Strong, is alleged to have made market-timed trades in his own funds that skimmed $600,000 in profits from other investors.
Two other states, Nevada and Wisconsin, use Strong as a college plan manager. Strong said Thursday it still represents those states.
Although losses to investors are estimated to be minimal, Oregon wants partners it can trust for the long term and needs a management firm that won't be distracted by the scandal, Edwards said.
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