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Columbia FundsColumbia Funds , which was wracked by what was popularly called the late-trading or market-timing trouble, has decided to move on and get over the issue. Nation funds, the firm, has also been incorporated as a part of Columbia Funds ; after the two firms allowed for a settlement to take place between them through the means of regulators and eventually joined hands.Columbia Funds is a part of a larger organization, the Bank of America or BAC just as the Nations' Funds is a part of the FleetBoston group, both of which joined hands in the beginning of 2004. Although an agreement to clear things with the regulators was decided upon then it was officially signed only in February. Columbia Funds have been able to meet our desires by improving its performance to a great extent through acquiescence with clients' demands, termination of employees who indulge in immoral acts and settling scores with its regulators. The thorough amount of regulations and monitoring as well as the reports on how well the firm complies with demands has made it emerge successfully as a organized and dedicated concern. The Settlement An amount of $675 million was the sum agreed upon as the sum to be paid by the Bank of America as settlement for the charges levied against Columbia Funds and Nations Funds. $160 million in fee cuts was considered a part of this sum and these fee cuts were not to be fee waivers but were fee cuts from the management. Therefore the fee cuts may extend beyond the five year mandatory period stipulated in the agreement. Certain managerial level staff and executive employees at Columbia were also authorized and Columbia Funds no longer employs these personnel. The agreement also decrees a severe policy of acquiescence and compliance on the part of the firm and allows for means of disclosure. The agreement also stipulated that those managerial staff that was a part of the meeting at Nations' Funds which paid attention to a market-timing pact were to be sacked. Where Columbia Is Today Columbia Funds has been able to recover from its previous position of disgrace as a glaring example of how investors in funds go wrong with mergers between fund companies. This has been achieved chiefly through the final merger that came about with Nations Funds. The Liberty Group of Funds has also thoroughly incorporated the firm into its processes allowing the firm a new lease of life. The employment of those staff members who were the miscreants has also been terminated and new wage policies which allow for lower payments to employees and better managerial personnel have been able to heighten its position further. We have been able to speak to several members of Columbia Funds after the agreement was made final. The list includes the professional investment consultants in the Boston division, compliance officials, senior-level managerial staff, Don Froude, who is chief of sales, and the chairman of the Board of Funds, who is independent. This was done in order to properly analyze how well the compliance policy has been integrated into the firm, whether more moral staff have been employed in the place of the previous immoral lot, and whether they manage mergers of funds well and perform better for investors in the process. In the course of this appraisal it was also our objective to look into the pay scale, compensation packages for managers, and how well the firm is able to construct a unified group for investment, all the while allowing fro its chief sources of skilled talent to remain intact. columbia_funds |