The phones are ringing off the hook at investment trust companies, as investors pull their cash out of money-management funds that fell below par value earlier this week.
Once the dust settles, fund managers have some hard questions to answer. Why were the funds allowed to drop below 10,000 yen? Could managers have done more to warn investors ahead of time? And, most important, will investors come back?
The falls were prompted by euro-yen bonds issued by troubled U.S. energy giant Enron Corp. The bonds made up huge chunks of funds managed by high-profile companies Nikko Asset Management Co., UFJ Partners Asset Management Co., Japan Investment Trust Management Co. and Sumisei Global Investment Trust Management Co.
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