Special Program Root Tag

Shaken by high unemployment, market volatility and ongoing concerns about a recurring worldwide recession, U.S. investors have entrusted only a projected $80 billion to stock and bond funds in 2011, Strategic Insight reported Monday.

In nearly 90% of high-net-worth households, women are either the sole decision maker or equal partners in decisions on charitable giving, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey in conjunction with The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Fidelity Investments has added an automated, end-to-end, web-based validation and notification service to its corporate actions service, ActionsXchange.

Since the creation of the customer call center in the 1950's, customer call centers have continually evolved, primarily through the development of new technologies and process improvements alone. In the financial services industry, mutual fund companies have been at the forefront of managing this critical touch point for their shareholders and distributors. However, while being tasked with providing a high-quality service experience for their shareholders, their major focus was often diverted to keeping up with rapidly changing technologies and closely managing the escalating costs and operating expenses that came along with the influx of the new technologies.

Investors increasingly turn to mutual funds to save for retirement and other financial goals. Mutual funds offer advantages of diversification and professional management, but they also come with fees and taxes, which can be cumbersome to manage and can weaken a fund's returns and Net Asset Values (NAVs).

ProShares, the fifth-largest provider of exchange-traded funds in the U.S., has created a new post, head of capital markets, and named Stephen Sachs to the position.

Predictions are easiest to assess, when a year is over.

PHOENIX-A member of the President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers as the mortgage-led global credit crisis erupted said that the last big weapon in the Federal Reserve Board's arsenal to create strong growth is to avoid "tinkering around the edges" of the economy and aggressively reset expectations.

PHOENIX, Ariz.-Richard A. Ferri, the founder of Portfolio Solutions, spent much of his first day at the Super Bowl of Indexing conference here trying to collect names.

Your collateral is only as safe as your futures trader's risk management system.

NEW YORK-The Volcker Rule, designed to ban investment banks from proprietary trading, has so many facets that it gives regulators the leeway to apply it overzealously.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's market structure crimes unit is hiring a group of non-lawyer trading specialists to aid in its investigations.

Economic and sovereign risks are likely to dissipate in 2012, according to Barclays Capital’s quarterly research publication, the latest titled, “Global Outlook: A Cautious Step Forward.” As a result, an economic rebound could come as early as the spring.

National Financial, Fidelity Investment’s clearing and custody company, announced a new myStreetscape portal for investors working with brokers who use the Streetscape platform.

U.S. Bancorp has launched a new exchange-traded funds service, ETF-Fusion, which helps existing or start-up ETFs with product development,administration and trade support, proprietary technology and regulation and compliance.

The Hartford will hire up to 50 in its mutual fund sales distribution unit, in a push to beef up this division.

As equity funds across different regions, capitalizations and investment styles plummeted between -15% and -26% in the third quarter, publicly traded asset managers were hit with an average 8.9% decline in fee-earning assets under management, Moody’s said Thursday. U.S. small-cap stock and emerging markets indices suffered the sharpest losses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it is accepting registrations for its next national seminar for chief compliance officers and other senior investment management executives.

Long-term mutual funds were hit with $9.24 billion in redemptions in the week ended Nov. 30, the Investment Company Institute said.

The Principal has launched the Dreamcatcher mobile application for iPhones, a companion to the Dreamcatcher web tool. This is part of Principal’s “Dream Again with The Principal” financial educational campaign aimed at helping people envision their financial goals—and putting them into clear focus.