Money Management Executive Latest News

Financial services, insurance, and real estate businessesí hiring plans for the fourth quarter are the weakest they have been in 16 years, a survey by Manpower found.

Legg Mason Taps Odenath To Head Up the Americas

Target-date funds, also known as lifecycle funds, are rapidly rising in 401(k) plans as the favorite qualified default investment alternative because they're much more appropriate than the traditional money market fund for hands-off investors.

Americans have changing needs for retirement products as they grow older, and mutual fund companies that recognize and respect the differences between the age groups can be much more effective.

Market unrest, the credit crisis and an updated FAS 157 are prompting mutual fund companies to be more meticulous about fair value pricing, Deloitte reported Monday in its “2008 Fair Value Pricing Survey,” its seventh annual such report.

With Lehman Brothers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, investors are fearful their holdings could be decimated, but regulators have been stepping in to reassure them that their mutual fund and brokerage accounts are safe, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that some of its staff were working within Lehman’s offices to ensure customer accounts are protected.

John Thain, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, said the reaction of his firm’s “thundering herd” of more than 16,000 financial advisers to the Bank of America sale has been almost 100% positive.

Fidelity Investments reached agreements with New York and Massachusetts officials to buy back at par $300 million of auction-rate securities from its customers by the end of the year, becoming the first retail brokerage firm to settle alleged fraudulent sales practices in the ARS market.

Neil Bathon, who founded Financial Research Corp. in 1987, has now formed a new investment management research firm, FUSE Research Network. Bathon said the information he will provide investment management distributors will be “actionable.” “With FUSE, our goal is not to produce information, but to assist clients to enact change by providing implementation support based upon the insights we derive through our research efforts,” Bathon said. “There are any number of providers who offer interesting data books and reports. Our research is designed to fill a higher spot on the value scale by delivering tangible, actionable guidance.” Joining Bathon in running the company is former FRC President Michael Evans. “I’m very pleased to be reconnecting with Neil at FUSE,” Evans said. “We firmly believe in our ability to convert marketplace knowledge into tangible results on the behalf of our clients. Many of the traditional information providers have not kept pace with changing needs of asset managers. The service offerings of FUSE will provide clients with the next generation of research support through the practical application of knowledge.”

Over the next several months, Curian Capital plans to hire 21 additional salespeople: 10 external wholesalers, 10 internal wholesalers and a divisional vice president overseeing them. “The expansion of our sales team will allow us to keep pace with the number of new advisory relationships that Curian has entered into this year, and support the robust growth of the managed accounts industry as a whole,” said Michael Bell, president and chief executive officer of Curian. “We are seeing an increased demand for dedicated business consulting and practice management support, particularly as more financial professionals transition to advisory business,” Bell continued. “We will continue to expand our distribution force in order to satisfy these demands and maintain a high level of personal service for our business partners.”