Alternative investments

More retirement think tanks are getting on board with the idea of including annuities in 401(k) plans, but so far, only a handful of large employers have this as an option.

Direxion has launched six new long and short exchange-traded funds tracking BRIC, India and the semiconductor industry, bringing the total number of leveraged ETFs it offers to 34.

After the stock market wiped away so many investors' wealth over the past two years, and amid disagreements among economists whether the recovery is sustainable, investors remain on sidelines—even though stocks are up 69% from their March 9, 2009 lows.

AlphaOne Capital Partners, a hedge fund and alternative investments boutique founded by former Gartmore CEO Paul J. Hondros, has selected SEI to provide a complete outsourcing solution, including a full range middle- and back-office services.

America’s millionaires are bouncing back. The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including their primary residence, grew 16% to 7.8 million in 2009, up from 6.7 million the year before, Spectrem Group’s “Affluent Market Insights 2010” report shows. In 2008, the millionaire population declined 27%.

Registered investment advisers are thinking outside their more typical client prospecting and communications streams and product mix this year.

Driven by the success of exchange-traded fund provider BlackRock, ETFs appear to be gaining notable market share in 401(k) plans, and while their use so far has primarily been among small companies, once the trend catches on among larger employers, ETFs’ popularity in 401(k) plans could become quite notable.TheStreet.com reports.

A fund for retirees and near-retirees from JPMorgan, the J.P. Morgan Income Builder Fund, aims to deliver institutional-type risks by investing in collateralized mortgage obligations, real estate investment trusts, high-yield debt, convertible bonds and emerging markets equities.

In the face of the shrinking asset management landscape and soaring distribution costs, not to mention the home-office centralization of brokerage firms’ investment choices, fund companies need highly accomplished national accounts teams, according to a new kasina report, “Excellence in Distribution: National Accounts.”

American Beacon Advisors has launched the American Beacon Global Real Estate Fund, which aims to deliver high total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation and which will be sub-advised by CB Richard Ellis Global Real Estate Securities.

Delaware Investments has launched the Delaware Diversified Floating Rate Fund, which will invest across the fixed income investments spectrum for those investors looking for exposure to floating-rate securities; at least 80% of its assets will be in floating-rate securities.

The American Council of Life Insurers is taking issue with a proposal by the White House to tax the “non-earned” income — for advisers, this includes annuity income — of people making $200,000 or more per year at 2.9% to help pay for Medicare.

AXA Equitable uncovered a dismal outlook for the economy and retirement in “Retirement in America: A Survey of Concerns and Expectations,” in which it polled both investors and economists and found a large percentage of both groups bearish on the economy and the markets.

Charles Schwab is attracting a slew of new assets, and daily average trades are rising. New and established clients brought the company $6 billion of net new assets in January, according to its monthly market activity report. Total client assets rose 27% from a year earlier, to $1.401 trillion, but were down 2% from December because of difficult market conditions.

Seventy-eight percent of advisers increased the number and duration of client contacts in 2009 to regain their trust after the very difficult year before, and while that has distracted many from business strategies, 68% of advisers are confident about their practices in the coming year. This is according to a survey of 1,804 advisers and 150 broker/dealers that Curian Capital conducted via Zoomerang.

Although the Obama administration recently gave its stamp of approval on annuities as a solution for retirement income, many professionals warn that their low yields and increasing fees should give investors pause, The Wall Street Journal reports.

After a New York Times story about the Obama administration promoting the use of fixed annuities to help middle-class savers in defined contribution (DC) plans manage longevity risk, research and advisory firm Aite Group took a look at what this will mean for insurers.

Charles Schwab has selected State Street Corp. to support its eight new exchange-traded funds with custody, fund accounting, fund administration and transfer agency services. Sin e2005, State Street has provided Schwab with custody, fund accounting, fund administration and securities lending services.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $557 million, or $1.19 per share, compared with a loss of $806 million, or $2.71 per share, a year earlier. For the full year, the Connecticut company posted a loss of $887 million, compared with a $2.7 billion loss in 2008.

Prudential Financial reported 2009 year-end earnings of $3.411 billion, or $7.63 per common share, a sharp improvement from the $1.14 billion loss, or $2.53 per common share, in 2008.