Money Management Executive Latest News

The day that the mutual fund industry eclipses $10 trillion in assets is awfully close, but experts say that exchange-traded funds could delay its arrival.

Adam Bold lectures on saving smartly for retirement during his Saturday morning Mutual Fund Show, but not unlike his more animated cable television colleague Jim Cramer, the former Smith Barney broker isn't afraid to tell callers what's hot and what's not, according to a report from SmartMoney.

By investing in oil drillers, zinc producers and gold miners, the Van Eck Global Hard Assets Fund is currently in second place in the natural resources mutual fund arena reported The Seattle Times.

Speaking before the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America annual convention in Washington, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) assured insurance agents that a pension reform bill is coming, and when it does it will allow them to offer 401(k) advice "in some form," according to a report in the National Underwriter.

Besides the mutual fund management fees that 401(k) investors pay, some are being charged hidden commissions, MarketWatch reports, calling it an "insidious form of surcharge."

At the request of investors, fund companies are increasing the equity exposure in their target-date, or lifecycle, funds. Fidelity and Vanguard are two of the biggest firms to do so recently, MarketWatch reports.

Money Management Executive has extended the deadline for entries to SourceMedia's Fourth Annual Fund Operations Awards, to this Friday, May 5.

Vanguard has launched a low-cost dividend fund called the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund. The fund offers traditional investor and exchange-traded low-cost share classes.

Janus Capital Group continues to reap the benefit of its Intech unit, as the quantitative investment group attracted $4 billion in new money in the first quarter of 2006.

Franklin Resources Inc saw its fiscal second quarter earnings drop 11%, marking this the first decrease in three years. The Franklin Templeton Investments subsidiary explains that the decline is a result of bringing back profit from oversees and decreasing the value of assets at one of the firm's trust units, according to the Los Angeles Times.