Alternative investments

CHICAGO - It often takes an economic crisis before firms really start thinking about risk management.

NEW YORK - Fee-based independent advisers, so far, are winning the retirement income race, beating out mutual fund companies, brokerages and insurance firms in the quest to conquer the 77 million Baby Boomers' estimated $17 trillion in retirement savings and total $90 trillion net worth.

The Federal Reserve has moved to ease bank ownership thresholds, allowing private equity firms to acquire larger-sized stakes in banking companies along with board representation.

Sallie Krawcheck, the chief executive officer and chairman of Citi Global Wealth Management, is set to leave the firm, according to a statement from Citigroup, the parent company.

Investors began a run on The Reserve's Primary Fund last Monday when Lehman's bankruptcy news made them fearful about the money market funds' $785 million exposure to the investment bank's previously blue-chip commercial paper and medium-term notes that had fallen to zero value.

Fidelity Investments reached agreements with New York and Massachusetts officials to buy back at par $300 million of auction-rate securities from its customers by the end of the year, becoming the first retail brokerage firm to settle alleged fraudulent sales practices in the ARS market.

CHICAGO - In the coming weeks and months, financial officials and members of Congress will be scrambling to revisit a spate of sunsetting tax and accounting laws before the new presidential administration and Congress take over next year.

The phone lines were jammed at financial advisers’ offices throughout the week as average investors called to find out just what the heck was happening on Wall Street.

Dreyfus is planning to offer the Dreyfus Sustainability Fund, a capital growth fund that will invest in environmentally friendly companies that are committed to “sustainable operating practices, products and services,” a Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows.

Fidelity Investments reached agreements with New York and Massachusetts officials to buy back at par $300 million of auction-rate securities from its customers by the end of the year, becoming the first retail brokerage firm to settle alleged fraudulent sales practices in the ARS market.

Fidelity will buy back $300 million worth of auction-rate securities from its brokerage customers, according to the Associated Press, citing an individual close to the talks. In so doing, it will settle an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and the announcement could possibly be made this afternoon.

Taking dead-aim at Middle America, Allstate Corp. has added guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits to its target funds.

MINNEAPOLIS - Sen. John McCain is the better choice for the financial services industry not for what he would do as president, but rather for what he would refrain from doing, GOP lawmakers said here this week during the Republican National Convention.

An obscure book about mutual funds has begun to arouse the ire of the industry.

AUSTIN, Texas - Making sure your company's 403(b) retirement plan is in compliance by Jan. 1, 2009 can be a daunting task, especially if you haven't gotten started yet.

Although Roth 401(k) features became effective Jan. 1, 2006, few employers immediately implemented them, since they were new and recordkeepers were still developing systems to accommodate the new feature.

The unified managed account (UMA) market’s rapid growth will not continue without greater standardization and automation, says a Dover Financial Research report issued Wednesday and commissioned by Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC).

Evergreen Investments of Boston, Wachovia Corp.'s asset management arm, announced Sept. 4 that it has closed its family of fund of funds.

By increasing the number of alternative products and strategies it offers, Mellon Capital Management Corp. has generated inflows in the past three years, despite difficult market conditions.

PIMCO has named Mohamed El-Erian chief executive officer, a position he currently shares as co-CEO with Bill Thompson, who will be retiring at the end of the year.