Money Management Executive Latest News

Charles Schwab is letting all of its retail customers use its Portfolio Performance Reporting tool for free at its website.

Russell Investments and Research Affiliates have launched a new index series based on Research Affiliates’ fundamental index methodology, whereby components of the index are selected by fundamental measures of company size rather than market capitalization.

NEW YORK-Traders feel more optimistic about the stock market than they did six months ago, said Kelli Keough, vice president of active trading at Charles Schwab, at a breakfast briefing Wednesday, to announce the launch of the firm’s new platform for active traders.

State Street Global Advisors on Thursday launched the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF and the SPDR Barclays Capital Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF.

Northern Trust announced Thursday it reached an agreement to buy the fund administration, investment operations outsourcing and custody business of the Bank of Ireland Group, Bank of Ireland Securities Services.

Male and female participants in MassMutual’s retirement savings plans had about the same among of their retirement assets in asset allocation options in the fourth quarter of 2010—24.3% for women and 24.0% for men. However, nearly all of the women’s allocation was to target-date funds, while the men had half their assets in target-date funds and half in risk-based options.

Factor Advisors has launched five leverage exchange-traded funds that hold both a bull and a bear position. The initial FactorShares ETFs combine holdings in the S&P 500 Index, U.S. Treasury bonds, gold, oil and the U.S. dollar.

Long-term mutual funds saw inflows of $8.5 billion for the week ended Feb. 16, the Investment Company Institute said Wednesday.

Forty-six percent of investors said they trusted financial services companies less in 2010, according to the second annual Edelman “Trust in U.S. Financial Services Survey.”

Fidelity Investments reported Wednesday that the average 401(k) account balance held with it hit a 10-year high of $71,500 at the end of 2010. For participants who continuously contributed to their 401(k) the average balance increased to $183,100 from $59,100 a decade ago.