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Vanguard announced it is cutting fees by lowering the minimum investment amount needed to qualify for its Admiral share class.

Investors’ outlook is cautiously optimistic, with nearly half expecting gains in the year ahead despite their concerns over the sluggish economy, Scottrade found in a survey.

Four in 10 workers are planning to delay their retirement, according to a survey of 9,100 employees by Towers Watson. Sixty-eight percent of older workers said they were making the delay to keep healthcare coverage, and 61% blamed the decline in their 401(k).

Equity markets in the United States suffered their second consecutive month of volume dropping more than 20% compared to a year ago, according to the Equity Research Desk in Greenwich, Conn.

Conflicting numbers from Phoenix Marketing International bimonthly survey of affluent and high-net-worth investors suggests that while they’re gloomier than usual about the economy’s prospects, they’re also investing more in the market than they were.

An increasing number of financial advisors advocate using alternative investments in client portfolios as a way to increase diversification, according to the 2010 Rydex|SGI Annual AdvisorBenchmarking Study.

AQR Capital Management has launched the AQR Risk Parity Fund, whose main aim is to seek consistent returns with reduced equity market exposure.

Eaton Vance Tuesday announced the launch of the Eaton Vance Option Absolute Return Strategy Fund, a fund that aims to deliver returns independent of the stock and bond markets and that is benchmarked against short-term cash instruments.

J.P. Morgan Funds is showcasing audio and video tapings of its investment professionals’ insights in a new section on its website called J.P. Morgan On Demand.

John Hancock Funds on Monday announced the launch of the John Hancock Currency Strategies Fund, a fund that will make diversified investments in global currencies and that is managed by First Quadrant.

The Internal Revenue Service is getting the word out to employers about a provision in the recently passed Small Business Jobs Act that allows them to amend their 401(k) or 403(b) plans to allow participants to transfer an eligible rollover distribution into a Roth 401(k) or 403(b) account.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. on Monday announced improvements to its Mutual Fund Profile Service to improve the value of the data and expand the service’s technological capabilities.

Great-West Retirement Services has appointed Tom Masteller regional sales director for the Pittsburgh marketplace, responsible for selling 401(k) plan administration services through brokers, financial advisers, consultants, wirehouses and third-party administrators (TPAs). Great-West is the fourth-largest retirement plan recordkeeper in the U.S.

While exchange-traded funds have been one of the biggest-selling mutual fund categories, small, niche products are finding it hard to make a go of it. Of the 129 new exchange-traded funds introduced this year, 37, or 28%, are already closed.

DST Global Solutions has appointed Rick McCarthy vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas, in charge of DST’s investment management and business process management solutions. McCarthy reports to Walt Laliberte, managing director of the Americas.

BlackRock, John Hancock Mutual Funds and Fidelity Investments topped Kasina's list this year of best websites for advisers.

Managing collateral once was a dull middle-office function. That is until the end of 2008 when the financial woes of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG proved just how important having a solid counterparty was-and what would happen if a fund manager didn't protect itself against the disappearance of a counterparty.

With investors consistently and rather alarmingly rushing to the exits of equity mutual funds ever since the May 6 Flash Crash-shareholders have yanked $72.9 billion out of stock funds-asset managers are aggressively reducing fees at an unprecedented rate.

James Lam & Associates, enterprise risk management

Advantus Capital Management has names Randal Harrison vice president and director of the insurance advisory practice, which manages assets for insurance companies. He succeeds Marilyn Forelich, who has been in this position since 1998 and who is retiring. Harrison comes to Advantus from RBC Global Asset Management, where he was a managing director and senior fixed income portfolio management.