Portfolio

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating 50 cases of credit-default swaps and 150 hedge funds, Chairman Mary Schapiro told the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The investigations are in line with objectives of the Obama Administration to overhaul financial regulations.

ProFunds Group has hired Richard Kendrick as managing director, marketing, in charge of all marketing for the company’s exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. He comes to the firm from RiverSource Investments, where he was vice president, asset management marketing.

According to a survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 90% of financial markets executives and government officials believe the returns of the past are over, primarily due to radical restructuring of the financial markets.

Recognizing the need for asset management executives to receive timely insights from financial intermediaries on changing investor tastes, kasina and Horsesmouth have launched Advisor Vision. Through surveys conducted among Horsesmouth's 70,000 members that kasina designs and analyzes, the service provides insight into advisers' behaviors, preferences for working with asset managers and opinions on specific firms and investment choices.

Putnam to Double 401(k) Wholesalers to 10

There has been some talk that the government bailouts and industry intervention are leading America toward socialism. Whether or not that shocking and unsettling claim turns out to be true, the government will undoubtedly take greater control of the financial services industry, and that will stifle innovation, risk, growth-and wealth.

Energy Mandates Provide Major Opportunities: Calvert

The House Education & Labor Committee last week proposed new rules for 401(k) disclosure that will give investors greater transparency into the fees they are paying, but some 401(k) advocates say the new rules are too aggressive and unnecessary.

The 19th Century London financier Nathan Rothschild is credited with having said, "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets."

NEW YORK - After suffering deep losses in their retirement savings accounts, most Americans appear to be in a state of shock, unsure where to move next.