Portfolio

The mutual fund industry got a swift dose of the new reality of investors' conservative sentiment recently when PIMCO released a survey showing that 401(k) consultants are focusing on cash-equivalent and target-date funds.

With about two dozen insurance companies downgraded by one or two notches to a negative outlook during the first quarter, brokers who sell variable annuities are beginning to wonder if those insurers will be able to honor the annuities’ guarantees.

OppenheimerFunds Makes Structural Changes Aimed At Better Risk Control

Putnam Hires Lewis as Director of DC Sales

One shift in distribution strategy the financial crisis has caused, which fund sales directors should take note of, is that banks are looking far more attractive to a variety of advisers and more are hiring top talent.

The top wealth management executive at Beneficial Bank in Philadelphia said his unit aims to take advantage of its rivals' "distractions."

Americans Still Committed To Investing, AARP Finds

401(k) Consultants Focusing on Preservation, Risk Management, Target-Date Funds

As mutual fund assets continue to decline and investors migrate to low-cost products, fund companies are struggling to make management fees stretch even farther.

While most mutual fund companies struggled in 2008, John Hancock Funds finished the year in solid standing, buoyed by a strong first half and careful strategic planning. President and CEO Keith Hartstein recently spoke with Money Management Executive's John Morgan about the key areas that drove Hancock's record $8.5 billion in sales, some regulations he would like to see changed and his outlook for the rest of 2009 and beyond.