Money Management Executive Latest News

The Financial Services Authority in mid-June sent out a letter to the top brass of over 200 wealth management firms in London telling them to clean up how they store financial and background data on retail clients. Many had apparently not been making suitable investment decisions for their customers.

Retirement as we know it is getting hit with two enormous threats.

RidgeWorth Investments has added two additional sales executives to the six it recently hired for its newly created retail channel sales team led by Bob Kuberski, with Michael Reynolds and Mitchell Izumi joining the firm.

Public fallout from the data breaches that have affected Citigroup and other large enterprises has reached the political push back stage. Sen. Patrick Leahyhas introduced the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2011, which would bring federal criminal charges against enterprises that don't disclose breaches to individuals in a timely manner via mail, telephone or e-mail. Media notices would be required for breaches involving 5,000 or more people. And the FBI and Secret Service would need to be notified if the breach affects 10,000 or more people, compromises databases containing the information of 1,000,000 or more people, or impacts federal databases or law enforcement. In the House, Rep. Mary Bono Mack has introduced a similar bill requiring disclosures to victims within 48 hours of a data breach.

While retirement income is fast becoming the No. 1 concern of retirees and pre-retirees, trumping worries over rates of return and control over money, a mere 9.5% of financial advisers are addressing the issue in depth-missing out on a vital way to form and cement relationships with those entering into retirement, according to Fidelity Investments.

The gross domestic product of the United States increased at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011, according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That is down from an annual growth rate of 3.1% in the fourth quarter.

While mutual fund companies in general are not embracing mobile technologies to the degree that banks, credit cards and self-directed brokerages are, Vanguard and TIAA-CREF stand out in terms of its offering research and trades via mobile devices, according to Corporate Insight.

Nuveen Investments has launched the Nuveen Inflation Protected Municipal Bond Fund, which aims to protect investors against inflation and rising taxes.

Americans are banking heavily on stocks and real estate in the upcoming decade, according to the Franklin Templeton Global Investor Sentiment Survey.

Nearly one-third, 29%, of the three million 401(k) participants that Vanguard serves had their portfolios in a target-date or balanced fund, or a managed account advisory service, according to Vanguard’s 10th annual “How America Saves.”