Compliance April 25, 2003

EEOC Expands Mediation Program

April 25, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Civil rights boards in nine states are joining the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s voluntary mediation program to settle private-sector discrimination charges.
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>Under a pilot program, the agency’s district offices will send appropriate charges to the participating Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) for mediation. If both sides can hammer out an agreement, the FEPA mediator will help the parties draft a settlement agreement, which is then returned to the EEOC for closure under routine procedures. If the parties are unable to settle, the case goes back to the EEOC for investigation, the agency said in an announcement. Local EEOC officials will monitor and document the FEPAs’ mediation performance.

>The latest agencies to join the EEOC program on a contract basis include:

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  • The Alaska Commission for Human Rights
  • The City of New York Commission on Human Rights
  • The Florida Commission on Human Rights
  • The Indiana Civil Rights Commission
  • The Iowa Civil Rights Commission
  • The Kansas City Human Relations Department
  • The Ohio Civil Rights Commission
  • The New Mexico Department of Labor
  • The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission.

>The launch of the FEPA Mediation Pilot follows the recent implementation of a “Referral Back” Mediation Pilot for private employers, in which discrimination charges filed with the EEOC will be sent back to a participating employer’s internal dispute resolution program, as appropriate.

>Under the EEOC’s National Mediation Program, first implemented in 1999, EEOC has conducted more than 44,000 mediations, resolving over 29,000 charges and obtaining over $400 million in benefits with an average processing time of 86 days. In total, EEOC maintains contractual relationships and worksharing agreements with over 90 FEPAs nationwide to process discrimination charges filed against private employers or state and local governments.

Investing April 24, 2003

FRC: Funds Net $11.8 Billion March Inflow

April 24, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Mutual funds continued to pick up assets in March, recording net inflows of $11.8 billion for the month.
Reported by

Corporate bond funds again led the way by taking in $7.6 billion and an additional $2.8 billion intake was accumulated in government bond funds, both totals lower than the $8.2 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively, that flowed into the categories in February (See  Funds Net February Inflow ).   Other inflows were also recorded in domestic equity funds and tax-free bond funds, amassing $2.1 billion and $14 million respectively in March, according to a Financial Research Corporate (FRC) report.

Conversely, international/global bonds funds could not hold on to the positive inflows recorded in February, turning in a net outflow of $716 million.  Year-to-date, domestic equities are still the only category in the red, with a net outflow of $3 billion.  Comparatively, all other categories have started 2003 with inflows:  corporate bonds ($23 billion), government bonds ($13.7 billion) and international/global bonds ($2.1 billion) and tax-free ($2.0 billion).

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As was the case with February’s figures, March was good to bond funds.  In terms of net flows, three out of the top five Morningstar fund categories belonged to bond funds.  High yield bond funds stepped up into the top stop for the month, accumulating $4.7 billion. 

Coming in second place were inflows seen in short-term bonds of $2.1 billion.  Rounding out the top five March inflow categories were:

  • Ultra short bonds – $1.8 billion
  • Domestic hybrid – $1.4 billion
  • Large Blend – $1.1 billion

Family Reunion

Falling into the same rank as the previous month, the Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments were once again head of the class in terms of total assets, with $471 billion and $456 billion, respectively.  Behind the two sizeable fund families in the total asset race were:

  • American Funds – $321 billion
  • Franklin Distributors Inc – $146 billion
  • Putnam Investments – $125 billion

However, the order got shuffled in March’s best-sellers list, as number one and three leap-frogged into each other’s place.   Vanguard Group held this month’s top stop, recording net flows of $3.2 billion, with American Funds gaining $2.8 billion.  Rounding out the top five in monthly net inflows were:

  • PIMCO Funds – $2.3 billion
  • Fidelity Distributors   – $1.1 billion
  • Dodge & Cox – $958 million

Year-to-date, the top three held true to the previous month’s order, with American Funds on top after $8.9 billion in net flow.  PIMCO followed closely behind, obtaining $8.2 billion and the Vanguard Group tallied $7.8 billion thus far in 2003.  Finishing out the top five list was Dodge & Cox and Fidelity Distributors with $2.6 billion and $2.5 billion in year-to-date net inflows, respectively.

Individual Performance

Dislodging the PIMCO Total Return from the top spot in March’s net flows was the Vanguard Total Stock Index, with $1.6 billion.   First American Core Fund held down the number two spot for the month after a $1.1 billion flow in March, followed by the PIMCO Low Duration’s $771 million for the month.  PIMCO’s Total Return, collecting $621 million and Dodge & Cox’s Stock fund, recording a net inflow for the month of $617 million, held the fourth and fifth spots.

Excluded from the report is all data from money market funds.

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