Portfolio

LAS VEGAS - A recession may seem like an odd time for a renaissance in technology, but the need to cost-effectively share information and brainstorm for solutions has never been greater.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will not revisit 12b-1 fees by the end of the year, Andrew Donohue, director of the division of investment management, told Reuters.

The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets is looking at ways to better understand and regulate derivatives and credit default swaps, which essentially are insurance on corporate debt.

Assets in U.S. money market mutual funds rose by $21.28 billion in the week ended Nov. 12, for a total of $3.637 trillion, the Investment Company Institute said.

Testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee onThursday on the role of hedge funds in the credit crisis, five prominent hedge fund executives said they would be in favor of establishing a public exchange or clearinghouse for credit default swaps (CDS)to make that market more transparent.

The fate of many a hedge fund relies on what investors decide to do with their money on Nov. 15, when it is possible an overwhelming majority could ask for their money back by the end of the year, Dow Jones reports.

A record $156.5 billion was withdrawn from mutual funds in Europe, according to the Lipper FMI report. All asset classes suffered net withdrawals. By comparison, U.S. mutual funds have lost $100 billion year-to-date, according to AMG Data Services.

Referring to today’s stock and corporate prices as bargain basement, the chief executive officer of Aberdeen Asset Management of the U.K. said he is interested in purchasing other companies, particularly hedge funds-of-funds and private equity firms, Reuters reports.

“There will be profound changes in the way investors look at the world going forward,” Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb told Reuters.

Hedge funds lost only 3.9% in October, but overall, in the third quarter, they lost 16% of assets, ending at $2.497 trillion, due to heavy investor redemptions, according to a Wednesday report from HedgeFund.net.