Practice

WASHINGTON — Having successfully ushered Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke's troubled confirmation through the Senate, the Obama administration must soon consider how best to fill other key financial regulatory positions.

Fund managers should consider improving target-date fund disclosure to better align these products with the individual risk tolerance of investors, particularly in light of increased regulatory scrutiny over the performance of these funds in 2008, a retirement income expert says.

RR Donnelley has added another mobile application to its suite for mutual fund and annuity companies, broker/dealers and financial advisers, the iCOMPLi iPhone app that makes it possible to send a SEC-compliant prospectus, summary prospectus or statement of additional information to an investor.

Many advisors who are interested in social media are kept on the sidelines by their fear of wasting too much time in addition to uncertainty over the effectiveness of social networking.

Wells Fargo has inherited Wachovia’s fight over defecting brokers. Can it succeed?

New regulations are aimed to boost resilience of money market funds.

Putnam Investments is betting that actively managed products like its absolute-return funds will resonate more with skittish investors than index funds and exchange-traded products, which might be cheaper but mirror the market's volatility.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd is not the only lawmaker who stands to lose if a regulatory reform bill is not enacted this year.

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Bob Corker's decision to negotiate directly with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd on regulatory reform may boost the chances of reaching a bipartisan bill, but does not clarify how critical unresolved issues will be worked out.

Prudential Financial reported 2009 year-end earnings of $3.411 billion, or $7.63 per common share, a sharp improvement from the $1.14 billion loss, or $2.53 per common share, in 2008.