The winner is...
From Morningstar
The results of Dalbar's quarterly ranking of the top 25 mutual-fund Web sites were released yesterday at a black-tie affair in Beverly Hills. Top honors went to Invesco, for direct investors, and Kemper, for brokers and financial planners. Both of the firms and their parents "have seized on the latest technology and been willing to spend the bucks, frankly, to implement it," said Louis Harvey, president of Dalbar. The sites were judged on editorial content, ease of use, functionality, swimsuit and evening wear.

It's in the stars
From The New York Times
The secret of the stock market is in the stars, says Henry Weingarten, director of the Astrologers Fund. "Since 1988, we have a track record that's second to none," said Weingarten. A number of journals have documented Weingarten's public forecasts. He predicted the 1987 U.S. crash, the Japanese downturn in 1989; the start of the Gulf War in 1990; the Mexican financial crises in the mid-1990s; and the difficult start for the euro in 1999. The fund currently caters to a private clientele, but director Henry Weingarten said he is seeking backing from a U.S. bank to create a full fledged mutual fund.

Not with a bang, but with a whimper
From The Boston Globe
A few weeks ago, without much fanfare, the 100% No-Load Mutual Fund Council disbanded. In recent years, the trade group had dwindled to a diehard few small fund firms that vehemently disavowed sales charges. But the lines aren't so clear anymore. Many no-load fund families have funds which carry sales charges (Janus), and many traditional load companies sell no-load funds. And when funds are part of a supermarket, all bets are off. But many investors still don't realize that all funds have charges associated with them, and that loads have nothing to do with performance.  

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