Money Management Executive Latest News

As employers regain confidence, they plan to lift freezes on salaries, benefits and 401(k) matches, according to a series of reports.

Despite the turmoil in the financial services industry, some mutual funds that specialize in the sector have not only outperformed their benchmark but have delivered double-digit returns, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Investors dropped almost $44 billion into open-end mutual funds in July, bringing the year-to-date total for inflows to $171 billion, according to data released by Morningstar. Taxable bond funds were the overwhelming favorite, taking 59%, or $26 billion of July’s proceeds.

Two-thirds of women between the ages of 40 and 79 have encountered a life crisis, be it a long-term unemployment, divorce, death of a spouse or a major illness or disability of someone in their household, AARP found. And with this, they encounter financial and emotional hardship.

Since the market meltdown at the end of 2007, 51% of investors think about their finances every day, whereas before, only 27% did, Charles Schwab found in a survey.

The average 401(k) account balance rose 13.5% in the second quarter to $53,900, which was perhaps behind the trend for more investors to increase their deferral savings rate than to decrease it, Fidelity Investments reports.

In a survey of 757 investors between the ages of 35 and 64 with investable assets of at least $100,000, Phoenix Marketing International found that more than half say their financial situation is worse than a year ago and two-thirds don’t expect it to get any better for at least one year.

Sun Life Financial announced Tuesday it is planning its first U.S. marketing and branding campaign, to better enforce its name among American consumers and financial advisers.

The combination of investors’ love affair with exchange-traded funds and their renewed interest in fixed income in the wake of the market downturn is creating a field day for bond exchange-traded funds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Vanguard has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer seven bond index funds and seven bond exchange-traded funds, expanding its current roster of five offerings apiece to 12.