Portfolio

The financial crisis has taken a serious toll on millionaires, with their ranks falling 27% in 2008 from 9.2 million at the beginning of the year to 6.7 million by year-end, Spectrem Group found. That brings the total down to 2003 levels, when there were 6.2 million millionaires in the nation.

Unlike his predecessor, Paul Volcker, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve doesn’t believe money market funds should be regulated like banks, with reserve requirements and mandatory insurance.

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a case three investors in Oakmark Funds had brought over what they alleged to be excessive fees failed to meet the burden of proof, setting an important precedent that protected fund firms against such cases.

Citi’s transfer agent business has been awarded five stars by National Quality Review. Servicing 10 million shareholder accounts, it is one of the largest transfer agent providers in North America. National Quality Review bases its ratings on real customer inquiries.

After reaching a peak of $1 trillion last June, hedge funds-of-funds took in $300 billion in redemptions, or a 30% decline, Investhedge said. Today, hedge funds-of-funds have $744 billion in assets.

Despite the plummeting economy, most 401(k) participants are staying calm and behaving normally, according to 2008 year-end data from the Investment Company Institute.

Approximately 37% of investors are participating in target-date funds when their employer offers one, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Reserve Management's board has set aside $3.5 billion of the remaining assets in its failed Primary Fund to cover costs and expenses for pending lawsuits against the fund.

McCullough to Retire From DST as COO, With Hooley Replacing Him

Putnam Investments will waste no time reinvigorating its defined contribution business, and its long-struggling equity funds will have to earn their way into the mix, according to Robert L. Reynolds, its president and chief executive.