Alternative investments

Asset Management firm Van Eck Global recently launched its Market Vectors-Gulf States Index ETF on the NYSE Arca.

According to the data in the Northern Trust Universe, the majority of U.S. institutional investors posted negative returns for the quarter ending June 30 - the third negative quarter in a row for participating plans in the study.

eSecLending, an administrator and provider of customized securities lending programs, recently announced its creation of Securities Financial Global Advisors (SFGA), a registered investment advisor (RIA), to further carry securities lending for mutual fund cash collateral in the U.S.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) recently announced its acquisition of 10% interest in the O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM) firm.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. urged Congress to finish legislation that would create a regulator for government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and financially shore up the two mortgage financing giants.

The European Union proposed a new set of rules Thursday to make Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) even more efficient by eliminating additional regulatory hurdles. Most notably, the rules- which will replace 10 directives with just one and go into effect in 2011-will allow cross-border mergers of funds, making Europe's mutual fund industry more efficient. They will also permit master-feeder structures and eliminate much of the administrative paperwork currently required to market funds to other markets in the European Union of 27 member states.

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The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) are working together to introduce 12 interoperable XML-based message formats to the alternative investment community.

Federal regulators are cracking down on the potential spread of false and misleading rumors that could potentially affect market conditions.

The deadline for entries to Money Management Executive’s Sixth Annual Fund Operations Awards has been extended through Thursday, July 31, so you still have plenty of time to enter.

Prudential Financial recently honored five plan sponsors that redesigned their defined contribution retirement programs, helping members to better attain their retirement goals.

NAVA has teamed with IBM to launch a tool establishing an automated standardized process that streamlines the sale of annuities.

Supporters of pension funds argued before Congress that the plans play a critical role in ensuring retirement security and stimulating the economy.

If elected, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama plans to increase the capital gains tax between five and 10 percentage points, from its current rate of 15%. The effect of Obama’s possible candidacy, along with his tax program, has already sent concern throughout the financial world, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Some financial planners are advising investors to take advantage of the current lower rates and to drop some mutual funds and stocks.

Prudential Financial recently announced an insurance program targeted at the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Wells Fargo & Co., while bruised by California's slumping housing market, increased revenue by capitalizing on recent acquisitions in its insurance business and growing demand in the agriculture sector to beat analysts' second-quarter earnings expectations.

Turning the collection of market data into a competitive business is a fatally flawed idea, said the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association last week in response to a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal that seeks to do so.

The biggest mutual funds in the nation have lost more than an estimated $4 billion in the past week alone on their investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and related mortgage stocks, Reuters reports, based on analysts’ assessment of fund companies’ latest reports. In the past week, Fannie and Freddie declined 45.4% and 46.5%, respectively.

The small group of money mangers who possessed the ability to outperform the market has virtually disappeared, according to a new study.

Financial experts seem to be in agreement that we are now in a bear market, but will that bad news shake investors’ traditional buy-and-hold strategy with 401(k)s – particularly older investors?