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To: Les H who wrote (5053)	1/22/2003 10:07:13 PM
From: Softechie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29596

Mutual funds braced for setback from SEC By Julie Earle 01/22/2003 19:01 The US mutual fund industry is bracing itself for bad news tomorrow when the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to vote on a rule that would force mutual funds to disclose their proxy voting records. The SEC, which is facing an investor backlash over corporate disasters such as Enron, will vote on a proposal that would require mutual fund managers to publicly disclose how they cast proxy votes on behalf of their investors, on controversial issues such as executive compensation. Industry watchers believe the rule is likely to be approved, with minor changes, in what would be a significant blow to the $6,600bn fund industry. SEC commissioners agree that if the proposals are approved, mutual fund companies which failed to make information available to shareholders, or to report their votes to the SEC, would be liable for potential fraud. An adoption of the rule would be a win for corporate governance advocates, who claim the changes are needed to prevent conflicts of interest that might cause fund managers to vote in their own interests. Advocates of the SEC proposal, including big pension funds and labour unions, have claimed that if fund companies had been forced to reveal their voting records years ago, that may have prevented debacles such as WorldCom and Enron, where investors lost hundreds of millions of dollars. The AFL-CIO, the largest US labour federation, has said that fund firms did not rein in packages of executives because they were pressed to vote a certain way. Mercer Bullard, the chief executive of Fund Democracy, a mutual fund watchdog group, said that mutual fund managers also might vote with management to win or protect business, such as lucrative 401(k) pension accounts. "Fund managers have the same conflicts as stock analysts," said Mr Bullard. Since the SEC first launched the proposal in September, it has received more than 7,000 comment letters, with the majority in favour of the rule being adopted. The fund industry, barring a few funds, has been aggressively opposed to the proposal that would reveal how they marked ballots on behalf of their 95m investors. The Investment Company Institute, a mutual fund industry group in Washington, has argued that disclosing proxy votes would harm shareholders, not help them. The SEC plan would also expose fund firms to constant attack from activist groups. Last week, Ned Johnson, the chairman of Fidelity, the number one mutual fund group, and his arch-rival, John Brennan, at Vanguard, joined forces to fight the SEC plan and complained that any rule would require money managers to spend time explaining and defending their votes, distracting them from their real jobs of stock-picking. Fidelity, in its letter to the SEC, "strenuously objects" to proxy votes being disclosed. It said that disclosure would be costly without advancing the real interests of fund shareholders. Both companies complained that the rule would leave pension funds, foundation and bank trusts and insurance companies still able to vote in secret.

To: Les H who wrote (5053)	1/23/2003 8:42:34 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29596

Oil & Gas Drillers, Field Services, and Equipment (54 stocks) OSX Amex Oil Services Index and OIH Oil Services Holders percent stocks over MA Trend Price Phase market OSX 10 d 21 d 50 d 200d Score Phase Change ----------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ------ Jan 23 84 65 37 37 19 -51 -2.17 UP Jan 22 82 52 22 28 13 -26 -2.39 DOWN Jan 21 81 33 17 22 9 14 -2.35 Jan 17 84 48 24 33 17 -36 -1.99 Jan 16 85 81 30 39 24 -68 -2.08 UP Jan 15 83 28 19 28 13 -99 -2.48 Jan 14 80 19 15 20 9 -99 -2.45 Jan 13 81 13 15 24 9 -99 -1.90 Jan 10 83 24 19 31 13 -100 -1.35 Jan 9 83 19 17 33 19 -99 -1.00 Jan 8 82 15 11 24 9 -76 -0.57 Jan 7 82 17 17 26 13 -74 0.21 Jan 6 87 37 29 63 31 -74 1.15 Jan 3 88 50 50 72 43 -97 1.52 DOWN Jan 2 89 74 61 78 41 -98 1.61 UP Dec 31 86 30 26 59 28 -99 1.53 Dec 30 86 19 28 57 24 -79 1.97 Dec 27 87 17 30 59 26 -57 2.61 Dec 26 89 30 50 70 41 -35 3.25 Dec 24 90 57 57 71 41 -26 3.61 DOWN Dec 23 92 63 64 77 43 -17 3.75 Retailers (222 stocks) RLX Amex Retailing Index and RTH Retailers Holders percent stocks over MA Trend Price Phase market RLX 10 d 21 d 50 d 200d Score Phase Change ----------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ------ Jan 23 260 16 30 29 20 -23 -2.59 Jan 22 256 13 29 27 19 40 -2.46 Jan 21 259 18 37 32 21 71 -2.03 Jan 17 266 39 49 41 23 93 -1.67 Jan 16 268 51 58 47 24 96 -1.59 DOWN Jan 15 268 48 54 45 24 97 -1.58 Jan 14 272 59 59 47 25 99 -1.58 Jan 13 272 60 55 46 24 99 -1.78 Jan 10 273 65 60 50 24 91 -2.02 Jan 9 273 70 59 50 24 90 -2.36 UP Jan 8 264 60 47 43 23 89 -2.82 DOWN Jan 7 266 68 51 46 24 97 -2.78 Jan 6 266 75 55 49 24 96 -2.82 UP Jan 3 264 65 41 41 22 67 -2.85 DOWN Jan 2 275 84 54 45 23 -45 -2.72 Dec 31 267 46 24 34 18 -78 -3.22 Dec 30 267 34 22 35 19 -87 -3.34 UP Dec 27 261 20 18 33 18 -99 -3.45 Dec 26 264 36 30 39 20 -98 -3.18 Dec 24 263 30 25 34 20 -94 -2.99 Dec 23 264 27 25 34 21 -86 -2.63