Benefits July 31, 2002

CFO Heads Continuing Rolling in July

July 31, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The nation's laser-like focus on corporate accounting continues to leave blood on the floor as chief financial officers (CFO) get shown the door about every 18 months.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

According to the latest survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, CFOs lasted 1.44 years in July while chief executive officers (CEO) got to stay around for 5.25 years.

Not only are CFOs getting sacked with lightning speed these days, the number of departures among high executives is gradually evening out between CEOs and CFOs. According to Challenger, July brought 50 CEO changes – only eight more than the 42 CFO departures. Researchers said that was the smallest gap so far this year

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter. 

Also, the number of chief executives being fired is slowing and the number of chief financial officers let go is growing, according to Challenger. July’s CEO departures were 21% fewer than the 63 recorded in June. A year earlier, there were 49 CEO swaps.

CFO departures increased 16 % in July to 42, up from 36 in the previous month. The July figure was 8% higher than the same month a year ago when 39 CFOs left their offices.

Through July, 428 CEOs have departed while 238 CFO changes have been counted.

Technology, financial and consumer goods firms saw the highest CFO turnover in July, each recording six departures.

A Challenger spokeswoman said the CEO and CFO statistics are derived from public announcements in sources such as the news media.

Investing July 30, 2002

Equity Swoon Strikes ETFs in June

July 30, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Assets of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) decreased by nearly $4 billion in June, but international ETFs managed to gain ground.

Reported by

Nevin E. Adams

An ETF is similar to a mutual fund, but trades like a single stock. Like a mutual fund, an ETF is a basket of stocks, most typically reflecting a particular index, specific market or geographic sectors.

Assets of domestic ETFs decreased by $3.95 billion, while assets of international ETFs increased by $94 million, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news. 

Broad-based ETF offerings declined by more than 4%, but domestic sector/industry ETFs shrank by more than 9.6%. However, sector/industry ETFs comprise only about 10% of the total exchange-traded funds.

Gross issuance of ETFs was down about a third from the $12.7 million issued in May, while gross redemptions were somewhat higher. On a net/net basis, the value of shares issued exceeded that of shares redeemed by $3.98 billion in June.

Sixty-eight ETFs tracked domestic stock indexes in June and held assets of $81.69 billion. Among the domestic ETFs, 35 used broad-based indexes and 33 ETFs targeted sector or industry indexes.

Statistics contained in the Institute’s monthly ETF report have been obtained from information provided to ICI by exchange-traded funds. Trust-issued receipts, such as Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS), are not included in the report because registered investment companies do not issue them.