Special Program Root Tag

Long-term mutual funds took in $4.9 billion in the week ended April 13, the Investment Company Institute said.

The popularity of hedge funds, particularly among institutional investors, propelled total assets under management to a record $2 trillion in the first quarter, according the latest report from Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc.

While there has been talk of an economic rebound, individuals are not feeling financially secure, a survey by First Command found.

Among working Americans making at least $30,000 a year, paying bills and reducing debt are greater concerns than saving for retirement, a “Financial Wellness” survey of 1,610 adults by PwC found.

Nearly half, 48%, of chief financial officers and senior comptrollers expect the economy to improve over the next six months, a marked improvement from the 30% who thought so in October, a survey of 318 executives by accounting and audit firm Grant Thornton found.

State Street’s top executive says the Boston-based company wants to continue to “fortify the foundation” without losing sight of opportunities for further growth.“I look back over the last couple of years, and in spite of what looks like a recovered market there is still a lot of instability,” Jay Hooley, State Street’s chief executive officer said in an interview on Tuesday. “We want to be sure our foundation is solid in terms of capital and risk management and make sure we have returned to basics in terms of our core asset servicing and asset management businesses, but also we want to be sure we are investing in enhancing our product capabilities. Our focus is really the whole package.”

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has revamped the leadership structure for its wealth management business, according to an internal memo sent by the firm’s global wealth management President Greg Fleming.The moves come as MSSB approaches its two-year anniversary of the inception of its business after Smith Barney was purchased from Citigroup, Fleming notes in his letter. It also comes after Fleming was named to his role in January, replacing Charlie Johnston.

The combination of a robust U.S. equity market and the proliferation of company-sponsored retirement plans helped push total assets in 401(k) pans over the $3 trillion threshold at close of last year, up 13% from 2009.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Tuesday it suspended indefinitely Pinnacle Partners Financial Corp., of San Antonio, Texas, and its president, Brian K. Alfaro, for failing to comply with a FINRA temporary cease and desist order “prohibiting their fraudulent misrepresentations.”The suspension resulted from FINRA’s notice of suspension that alleged that Pinnacle and Alfaro continued to make fraudulent oral and written misrepresentations and omissions in connection with their offer and sale of certain oil and gas joint interests. The temporary order was issued on Jan. 21.

SiVest Group, investment advisor to the Firsthand Funds, has launched the Firsthand Technology Value Fund, a closed-end, publicly traded fund.

Exchange-traded fund assets around the world surged by 6.7% in the first quarter to $1.399 trillion, with investors pouring a net $41.4 billion into ETFs in the first quarter—more than double their investments in the first quarter of 2010, BlackRock reported.

Eighty-five percent of buy-side firms are unprepared for regulatory changes, a survey by MoneyMate, a data management firm, found.

Putnam Investments launched FundVisualizer, a Web-based analytical tool that allows advisers to compare more than 100,000 mutual funds and ETFs in 60 different categories and formats to help them pick and choose the products that will best meet their clients' individual investment needs.FundVisualizer, which was developed by Putnam's in-house IT staff with some help from third-party vendors in roughly 70 days, is platform agnostic -- meaning future mobile versions will be compatible with a variety of tablet PCs like the iPad and Research In Motion's PlayBook and countless others. It is powered by Morningstar data, including the full universe of mutual funds and ETFs.

BlackRock’s iShares exchange-traded fund unit has created a fact sheet and a video to educate investors about the tax efficiencies of ETFs.

FINRA has fined UBS Financial Services $2.5 million and ordered to pay $8.25 million in restitution for conduct related to the sale of Lehman Brothers Holdings principal protection notes.

The No. 1 reason why people save money in a 401(k) plan or an Individual Retirement Account is to prepare for life after work.

RidgeWorth Investments has hired Robert Zakem as chief compliance officer and general counsel and Joseph O'Donnell as chief compliance officer for RidgeWorth Funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10 plans to hold a roundtable discussion on how to guard against systemic risk involving money market funds, the investment industry's $2.8 trillion alternative to checking accounts.

Six days after the Securities and Exchange Commission holds its roundtable discussion regarding money market funds and systemic risk, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) will host its own one-day money market fund summit.

RidgeWorth Investments is milking the success of a long-running series of dairy ads with its new marketing campaign that cheekily asks, "Got Mid-Cap?"