Alternative investments

John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund Paulson & Company, made an unprecedented $3.7 billion last year by betting against subprime mortgages and the financial products that held them.

Standard & Poor’s said the potential bill to U.S. taxpayers for bailing out Wall Street firms could grow to $400 billion, reports The Washington Times.

Russell Investments has launched “LifePoints Funds, Target Distribution Strategies,” a series of multi-manager funds designed specifically for the “decumulation” phase.

Hedge Fund Managers Have Rough Month

Consumer confidence in the economy, including stocks, bonds, mortgages, credit cards and structured products, is dropping, but experts say consumers need to stay invested in a fully diversified portfolio of mutual funds for their own good and for the good of the economy.

NEW YORK - The Transamerica Small/Mid Cap Value Fund was recognized as the best small-cap core fund at the annual Lipper Fund Awards dinner here last Wednesday.

Barclays has launched the Premier Fixed Income Fund in Singapore, aiming to provide retail investors with the potential for returns of 7% per annum.

Net inflows into Japanese mutual funds dropped by about 26% in 2007, according to the Nikkei Report.

Hedge fund managers had a tough month in March, lagging behind equity and bond benchmarks but outperforming equity markets, according to firms who monitor their performance.

The Investment Company Institute said it welcomes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to overhaul the financial system’s regulation apparatus.

Pax World Management Corp. has launched three new mutual funds focused on environmental and international concerns. The funds are Pax World Global Green Fund, Pax World Small Cap Fund, and Pax World International Fund.

Two years after their introduction, exchange-traded notes are still relatively unknown even among financial experts, but an increasingly volatile commodities market could alert investors to their hidden potential.

Reaction to the Subprime Crisis in the first quarter of 2008.

Market Outlook

NEW YORK—FTSE is ramping up its partnership with the Conflict Securities Advisory Group, which has been focusing on Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria since 2001, through the new FTSE CSAG Terror-Free Index Series, launched here Wednesday at a press conference at the Women’s National Republican Club.

An exchange-traded note that shorted gold saw futures prices rise about 14% last week when gold prices plummeted.

Rydex Investments is offering a new fund of funds that offers exposure to the alternatives marketplace to individual investors.

Many community banking companies have wealth management units, but lately more small and midsize wealth managers have been getting into the banking business.

Europe’s richest families are shifting their investments from traditional assets to hedge funds and commodities, according to a new report profiled by Reuters.

As the stock and bond markets continue to take a beating, institutions, individuals and hedge funds have begun pumping dollars into commodity mutual funds and other investment vehicles based on commodities.