Portfolio

In a period of high market volatility like now, many mutual funds can be capital gains time bombs for investors including those buy-and-hold types who do just as their advisors recommend and sit tight while everyone else is fleeing the market.

GuidedChoice has created a retirement plan “reality check” for participants to see how well prepared they are for retirement and how much income their savings will produce. The program also guides them to save more and offers access to professional advice.

Invesco has launched the PlanForward Consulting Series, aimed at helping 401(k) advisers and consultants “build a compelling value proposition and enhance their brand recognition.”

News of a possible double-dip recession and extreme stock market volatility prompted 40% of Americans to reduce their spending in the past 60 days, according to the September Bankrate Financial Security Index.

UBS AG updated the loss from its unauthorized trading scandal on Sunday to $2.3 billion from its previous $2 billion estimate, and also provided more details on how the alleged fraud was perpetrated.

Fidelity Investments has added five funds to its Spartan equity index lineup: the Spartan Emerging Markets Index, Spartan Global ex-U.S. Index, Spartan Real Estate, Spartan Mid-Cap and Spartan Small-Cap funds. This brings the total number of funds in this family to 13.

While both hedge funds and equities lost value in August, hedge funds outperformed equities by more than five percentage points. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index fell 2.3% last month, but the Dow Jones Global Index of equities declined 7.69%.

Investors yanked $33.6 billion out of U.S. mutual funds in August, one of the biggest months on record with redemptions, according to Strategic Insight. Year-to-date, redemptions have totaled $21.2 billion, according to the research firm.

Sub-advised mutual fund assets will grow 29% over the next five years, rising from $1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion in 2016, Financial Research Corp. predicts. This will result in an 11% compound annual growth rate.

Among current retirees, annuities account for only an average of 4% of household income. That’s the finding of a new study of annuity use among retirees and near retirees just released by LIMRA, the Connecticut-based financial industry research organization.