Practice

The unprecedented financial crisis of 2008 has redefined everyone's perception of risk, sending private wealth managers back to the drawing board to make sure clients really understand how risky complicated products can be.

NEW YORK - "There is so much stimulus in the economy. The punchbowls are at the party, they're spiked-but no one is drinking yet." That was the apt summary of the current economic and investment picture by Rodney Olea, manager of the AHA Limited Maturity Fixed Income Fund, speaking at SunStar's press briefing for Lipper Leaders here last week.

Everywhere you look these days, people are talking about green cars, green energy, greenhouse gases and even green mutual funds. This new demand for all things green is enough to make some money managers green with envy.

Faced with economic difficulties, almost one out of every five, or 18%, of Americans are dipping into their 401(k) savings, Bank of America found in its annual Retirement Savings Survey.

Reserve Funds has added insult to injury, literally, to the investors in its Primary Fund. The fund, which broke the buck on Sept. 16 and has been struggling to return investors’ assets ever since, is now valuing the remaining balance at 98.5 cents per share.

Contrary to widely held beliefs in the annuity and insurance industries that they are poised to cash in on the 78 million retiring Baby Boomers, a new report from Diversified Services Group finds that mutual funds are positioning themselves to do a better job of serving this market.

The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations at the Securities and Exchange Commission reminded fund companies that with all of the staffing and operational cutbacks taking place, compliance is an area where shortcuts cannot be tolerated.

Target-date funds may certainly be increasing in popularity, but the tools to help financial advisers sort through the available choices are sorely lacking. That was the finding of a recent poll of 168 advisers to defined contribution plans, conducted by Harris Interactive for JPMorgan Funds.

CIBC announced Friday that it has finally settled 2004 charges that former trader Paul Flynn permitted hedge funds to market time mutual funds.

Don't believe the retirement income hype.