Tricks of the Trade: Scudder Loads Up

Scudder might be new to wooing brokers, but it has surely hit the ground running.

Founded in 1919, the firm has historically focused on no-load investing. But last year Scudder shifted into the broker-sold channel, slapping loads, or sales charges, on its funds. The move followed its merger with broker-sold Kemper Funds under the Zurich Financial Services umbrella in 1997.

Now the firm is using one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book for the second year in a row, according to paperwork filed last week with regulators: It is boosting brokers' commissions through April 30 on certain funds sold into individual retirement accounts, or IRAs. ...