Alternative investments

By now, investors are accustomed to the creative, informal "Talk to Chuck" advertisements of Charles Schwab & Co. in which animated, yet somewhat realistic, images of people gripe about trying to get through to other brokers, but take heart at the thought of reaching Chuck Schwab, the man, through one of his people.

The recent mortgage market crisis has opened a Pandora's box of white-collar cases probed by the U.S. attorney’s Eastern District office.

Goldman Sachs and Deloitte & Touche LLP announced they had finalized plans to unload a portion of a $7 billion structured investment vehicle, which was set up by U.K. hedge fund manager Cheyne Capital Management LLP, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.

When an employee leaves a firm, can they take their client list with them to their new job?

When the value of the dollar decreases, Americans are apt to invest in tangible assets such as real estate. As depreciation continues, it comes as no surprise that real estate mutual funds (REMFs) have grown 6% so far this year. What is surprising, however, is seeing financial success in one of the worst real estate markets in years.

Money market mutual fund assets fell $38.91 billion for the week ending June 18, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is currently celebrating the 10 year anniversary of its ADR Index. This index has become a global benchmark for investments as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other structured products are scaled based on its valuation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it would be releasing $103 million to investors who have lost money involving Banc of America Capital Management LLC (BACAP) and affiliates’ illegal and unethical activities.

A shocking lack of financial knowledge by our nation’s teenagers has caused a junior achievement organization and an association of retired teachers to band together to help bridge this gap.

As the tax debate begins between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, many investors and tax advisors say capital gains taxes will increase no matter what the outcome is this coming November, The Wall Street Journal reports. Senator Obama seeks to increase the current capital gains rate 5% or more for families making over $250,000.

Morgan Stanley, releasing its 2nd quarter earnings Wednesday, reported a 60% drop in profit from $2.57 billon, or $2.45 a share, in the second quarter of 2007, to $1.01 billion, or 95 cents a share. Net revenue also fell a substantial 38% from $10.52 billion to $6.51 billion.

Boston-based Eaton Vance Management has just received a no-action letter from the SEC that will permit it to provide a new auction-rate security known as Liquidity Protected Preferred Shares, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Approximately 78 million working Americans are currently working jobs that do not provide them with a retirement plan; however, Barack Obama is looking to change this predicament, according to a report by CNNMoney.com.

Charles Schwab has announced that the Charles Schwab Trust Company (CSTC) will offer target-date collective trust funds for retirement plans.

Below-average results are really starting to hurt investors, but new research by Rik Frehen, a Dutch finance scholar, suggests that mutual funds are not bound to under perform or be overshadowed by pension funds. The trick is to not follow the trends of buying and selling based on short-term emotions, but instead to be patient and think more about the long term.

Fidelity Investments has hired Michael Wilens, a senior executive at Thomson Reuters, to head the mutual fund company’s $1.5 trillion asset management division.

TIAA-CREF has launched a new service to help sponsors of 403(b) retirement plans meet new Internal Revenue Service requirements by Jan. 1, 2009.

NEW YORK – Timothy Geithner, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, called for substantial reforms to the structure of the regulatory system of the U.S.

While Morningstar certainly has carved out its niche and made a name for itself arming individual investors with mutual fund data and insight, the company plans to increase its focus on financial advisers and institutions, or the “pros” eager to pay for quality research. That’s according to an interview with Morningstar CEO Joe Mansueto in this week’s issue of BusinessWeek.

David Glaser, co-head of investment banking at Bear Stearns, is the latest of several of his former colleagues to join Bank of America.