Portfolio

At the hearing on target-date funds that the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission held in Washington last Thursday, the focus was on better disclosure of holdings.

WASHINGTON - Many investment industry leaders are worried that the proposed 401(k) fee disclosure regulations currently being pushed through Congress will actually increase the fees investors pay and increase their confusion.

UAT Inc. has developed a 401(k) tool for sponsors offering target-date funds that will allow them to scrutinize the holdings and glidepath of the funds.

There is a big disconnect between employers’ perceptions of workers’ understanding of 401(k) fees and the reality, according to a survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Harris Interactive.

After active managers fell in lockstep with their benchmarks and all of the major indexes in 2008, many institutional investors are paring back their investments with active managers in favor of low-cost passive alternatives, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Hedge funds were spared disclosure requirements in the financial overhauls proposed by the Obama administration, and that is definitely due to the industry’s stepped-up lobbying efforts, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Nearly one-quarter, or 23%, of employers have eliminated 401(k) matches, according to a study by CFO Research Services for Charles Schwab. And 35% don’t expect to reverse the elimination, according to a separate survey by Watson Wyatt.

The mutual fund industry is willing to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on point-of-sale disclosures to investors, as President Obama has proposed, said Investment Company Institute President Paul Schott Stevens.

After having raised only $500 million in the past two years, Fidelity Equity Partners, a private equity subsidiary, will be closed next month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will continue to focus on mutual fund oversight, Chairman Mary Schapiro told the New York Financial Writers Association.