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Russell Investments and Axioma have launched a series of long-only large- and small-cap factor indexes designed to help investors better manage their portfolio’s exposure to five risk factors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Chicago-based Nuveen Investments $3 million for creating and distributing misleading brochures to promote the sale of auction rate preferred securities.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has hired Benji Baer as managing director and chief marketing officer, reporting to Richard Chambers, chief marketing officer for J.P. Morgan Investment Management Americas. Baer will also serve as a member of the senior management team for Michael Falcon, head of retirement for J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Although the unemployment rate in the U.S. is 9%, three-quarters of broker-dealers and registered investment advisors plan to hire in the next 12 months, and they plan to boost their staff by an average of 30%, Fidelity Investments found in a survey.

College graduates who applied sound planning with following their passions had a much more satisfying college experience—and less debt—than those who did not, according to a study from Fidelity Investments.

IndexIQ has launched the IQ Hong Kong Small Cap ETF, which it says it the first exchange-traded fund to focus on the sector. It will track the IQ Hong Kong Small Cap Index.

FINRA has launched FINRA Disciplinary Actions Online, a searchable system that will give the public access to disciplinary actions for firms and registered representatives. It also adds another layer of transparency into the brokerage and financial advisory industry, on a firm and individual level.

Information on the original cost basis of stocks purchased by investors can now be transferred automatically in roughly 97% of cases.

The average pay in 2010 for the chief executive of a Standard & Poor's 500 company was $11.4 million.

Sean Foley has been promoted at fund administrator Butterfield Fulcrum and wealth management reporting firm FORS Limited to chief financial officer and chief administration officer.

Investors can't seem to get enough information on emerging markets and the funds that invest in them at Federated Investors.

Nearly 150 hand-picked and already highly successful Bank of America Merrill Lynch financial advisers next month will embark on what amounts to defined contribution retirement training boot camp at The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) in pursuit of a Certified 401(k) Professional designation to further their DC expertise and differentiate themselves from other practitioners.

A perfect storm of eroding Social Security trust funds, high unemployment and a flood of Baby Boomers all hitting retirement age at the same time will put enormous strain on Social Security for the next two decades, forcing retirees and their advisers to come up with alternative retirement income plans and strategies to make ends meet.

As unified managed accounts become a larger part of the evolving separately managed accounts (SMA) marketplace, account managers, distributors, technology firms and Depository Trust & Clearing Corp are learning how to avoid "failure to communicate."

Craig M. Lewis has been named chief economist and director of the Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. ticked down by 0.3% in April to 114.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.7% increase in March and a 0.9% increase in February.

Calamos International is now making its three-year-old Calamos Emerging Markets Fund available as a UCITS.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded $1.7 million to a Texas man and the estate of his deceased wife, after finding that a former independent contractor at Raymond James Financial Services improperly managed their portfolio using life insurance and variable annuities.

More workers are delaying retirement, according to The Conference Board.

Palmer Square Capital Management, a manager of hedge funds-of-funds and customized alternative investments, had launched its first open end mutual fund, the Palmer Square Absolute Return Fund.