Portfolio

Hedge funds appear to be on track to deliver returns of 6% or better in the second quarter, their best quarterly performance since 2000, Merrill Lynch analysts project.

Advisers to 401(k) plans recently have revisited the wisdom of offering annuities, in light of last year’s severe market downturn. But group annuities are being criticized for subjecting investors to lockup periods of five years or longer and a variety of additional fees.

Replacing a team portfolio structure with a single top manager and doing away with quantitative strategies has created a new era of accountability at Putnam Investments that appears to be having a striking effect on performance.

While Fidelity Investments agrees with most of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed changes to money market funds, it doesn’t want to see “radical changes” to the asset class, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.

Assets under management are down for nearly all firms due to market depreciation. And making matters worse, most funds have also been hit with steep outflows. According to Strategic Insight, only about 22% of equity mutual funds had inflows for at least four of the last five months of 2008. But a few firms have actually seen positive flows over the past year.

DST Systems Inc. this year celebrates 40 years of providing market-leading solutions to the mutual fund industry. In recognition of this milestone, Money Management Executive asked DST's senior leadership to identify ways in which investment management companies can maximize the value they deliver to their stakeholders by leveraging the strengths and resources of their service provider.

Crandall to Become CEO Of Massachusetts Mutual

More Regulation to Result in Higher Costs

Regulatory leaders are questioning whether changes need to be made to target-date funds after several 2010 funds reported huge losses last year, but mutual fund industry leaders say these concerns are overblown.

Banking companies will be hard-pressed to repeat a banner 2008 in terms of sales of fixed annuities. Fixed annuities were popular late last year and early this year, but with interest rates falling and the markets in a fingers-crossed recovery, executives and analysts expect demand for these products to start tapering off.