Practice

Young investors may not have much, if anything, to lose in the stock market, but seeing their parents and grandparents suffer from the market declines following the dot-com crash and then the credit crisis over the past 10 years has taken a severe toll on their risk appetite, The Denver Post reports.

The average 401(k) balance is back at the level it was in 2004, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute—essentially wiping out the past five years of investing.

The average return of U.S. equity mutual funds in the second quarter, a stunning 19.77%, was certainly welcome news, but it gave investors absolutely no reason to believe the stock market was turning around. After all, what fundamentals were there?

While 46% of plan sponsors have or are planning to decrease 401(k) matches for rank-and-file employees, budgets are increasing for 401(a) profit-sharing plans, usually offered to higher-paid workers, Diversified Investment Advisors found in a survey of 279 employers with 1,000 or more employees.

Fidelity Investments has joined the growing chorus of fund companies, brokerages and regulators warning investors about potential outsized losses in leveraged exchange-traded funds due to the effect of compounding.

After a period of tremendous creativity, where insurance companies were adding all kinds of bells and whistles to variable annuities, the industry needs to step back and streamline the products to appeal to customers and financial advisers alike, according to research company Novarica.

The recent drop in financial markets has rekindled the demand for safer, conservative financial products like stable-value funds.

Sometimes we seek out opportunities for change. Other times change is thrust upon us. Market conditions in the past 24 months have produced seismic shifts in the mutual fund industry, and several business drivers have emerged that will shape our industry's future. As asset managers, distributors, suppliers and others evaluate their next steps, these demands will drive strategies and shape new solutions.

Milliman’s employee benefits practice has introduced a 401(k) comparison tool for sponsors and participants called Power to Know.

Asset International has acquired Strategic Insight for an undisclosed sum.