Portfolio

Adviser confidence in the economy and stock market sank this month for the second consecutive month, according to Rydex AdvisorBenchmarking Inc., a Rockville, Md., unit of Rydex Investments.

Many large corporations and asset managers in Massachusetts are planning to cut jobs, and by the best estimates, the state could lose jobs for 4%, or 7,200, of its financial servcies workforce by the end of next year, slightly higher than an estimated 3% decrease in the rest of the nation, The Boston Globe reports.

Speaking before students at MIT, billionaire investor George Soros predicted that the number of hedge funds could shrink by as many as two-thirds, the Ottowa Citizen reports.

Adviser confidence in the economy and stock market sank this month for the second consecutive month, according to Rydex AdvisorBenchmarking, a division of Rydex Investments.

Investors’ list of financial concerns is growing longer. Added to the fear of not having enough money in retirement or being able to pay for their children’s college are concerns about healthcare and declining values in their savings and homes.

Bank of America has sued two former bond managers at Bear Stearns, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, who unloaded shares in subprime mortgage instruments they personally held in bond funds just prior to those instruments losing $1 billion in value.

Asset management firms are increasing their sales and marketing budgets for the defined contribution investment only marketplace by 28% this year, according to a report from Sway Research called “Best Practices in DCIO Sales and Marketing.”

E-mails, letters and website messages from mutual fund companies to nervous investors are heavily on the rise, Rocky Mountain News reports. Across the baord, the message is: don’t quit the markets, for in the long term, the markets won’t quit you.

The saga of Samuel Israel continues, with the $450 million Bayou hedge fund swindler now being sent to federal medical prison forpsychiatric evaluation. U.S. White Plains District Court Judge Kenneth Karas has sent Israel to Butner North Carolina Federal Medical Center for a complete medical and psychological evaluation, which could take up to 90 days.

General Motors recently announced it would stop matching employees’ 401(k) contributions. Sadly, that’s likely to become the norm at many companies, especially if the economic crisis deepens and lasts into next year or beyond, USA Today reports.