Alternative investments

Massachusetts sued Merrill Lynch on July 31 on the charges of fraud and “dishonest and unethical” conduct, Reuters reports.

Assets of money market mutual funds fell by $5.08 billion to rest at $3.502 trillion during the week ending July 30, according to the Investment Company Institute.

U.S. junk bond mutual funds saw net inflows of $153 million in the week ending July 30, according to AMG Data Services.

U.S. Rep. George Miller of California is probably the best friend 401(k) investors have on Capitol Hill.

Despite market opposition, Argentina recently cut tax breaks for mutual funds and financial trusts, satisfying the center-left government promise to raise taxes on financial earnings, Reuters reports.

The managed account solutions industry needs to adopt communications standards, according to a white paper from the Money Management Institute (MMI).

Pax World Management Corporation has settled charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that two of its funds, Pax World Growth and Pax World High Yield, purchased securities that violated their fund policies.

The energy and commodities sectors have dropped significantly below their 200-day moving averages and are now in sell territory, says Tom Lydon, editor of ETF Trends and president of Global Trends Investment.

India’s booming fund management industry has started to decline as the Indian stock market has plunged nearly a third so far this year, Reuters reports.

One year after one of the hedge fund industry's most talked-about collapses, failed fund manager Jeffrey Larson is raising capital for a new fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination released a new ComplianceAlert recognizing common flaws and weaknesses among mutual fund companies.

Pershing Limited, an affiliate of the subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Pershing LLC, recently announced the addition of four mutual funds to its Nexus Funds platform.

New income and precious metals funds are now available for Canadian investors within Investors Group (IG). They are the Putnam U.S. High Yield Income Fund and IG Mackenzie Global Precious Metal Class.

Investors looking to hedge the continuing slide of the U.S. dollar may want to consider investing in one of Rydex’s eight CurrencyShares exchange-traded funds.

John Hancock Variable Annuities has launched a new value-added program that aims to help advisors expand their business by developing guaranteed retirement income plans for their clients.

BOSTON - Excessive fees in some 401(k) plans are hurting the reputation of all 401(k) plans and shaking investor confidence in what most financial experts agree is a great way for the majority of Americans to save for retirement.

BOSTON - Workers love pension plans, but providing 20 to 30 years of benefits to a huge retired workforce can cripple most companies' profits.

Investors alleging wrongdoing by their stockbrokers can choose to go to court or face an arbitration panel of three people, including one person from the brokerage industry and two from the public.

Stock mutual funds saw an inflow of $2.39 billion during the week ending July 23, compared to an outflow of $3.02 billion the previous week, according to TrimTabs Investment Research firm.

Second-quarter client assets at Fidelity Investments' brokerage unit grew 2% from a year earlier, to $1.92 trillion.