Special Program Root Tag

Since joining Schwab Charitable, the national donor-advised fund organization as its president in the spring of 2000, Kim Wright-Violich has helped Schwab become one of the top 10 charities in the U.S., with over $3 billion in contributions.

A national survey by Citi revealed that women, especially young women aged 18 to 39, have reprioritized their finances as a result of the economic downturn.

If nothing else, the last two years have taught affluent investors and financial professionals that change is often unexpected, swift and brutal. But despite taking severe double-digit losses on their portfolios, affluent investors surveyed recently by HSBC still largely have the same portfolio allocations they did at the onset of the financial crisis in 2008.

Putnam Investments will reveal all of the fees in the defined contribution plans it manages through a new sponsor website that launches next month.

A Fidelity Investments poll of broker/dealers and RIA firms found 86% intend to accelerate firm growth and profitability this year by hiring more advisers and brokers, in addition to building new and existing client relationships. Only 2% say eliminating or cutting non-essential costs will be the biggest driver of profitability this year, compared to 27% in 2009.

State Street Global Advisors and Nuveen Investments launched an exchange-traded fund tracking Build America Bonds Thursday, as investment vehicles devoted to taxable municipal debt continue to proliferate.

The Department of Labor is revising its guidance on investment advice in 401(k) plans by expanding its focus from independent advice to redefining fiduciary duty.

Fidelity Promotes Johnson To Oversee All Distribution

Investment Company Institute Vice President of Operations and Continuing Education Donald J. Boteler; Franklin Templeton Investments Senior Vice President, Global Client Marketing David M. McSpadden; and Putnam Investments have each won first place in Money Management Executive's 2010 Fund Operations Awards for, respectively: Visionary Leadership, Innovation and Back Office Efficiencies/Streamlining.

Top industry leaders and regulators are still trying to figure out what happened during the mysterious "flash crash" of May 6, when the Dow dropped 1,000 points and exchanges briefly fell off a cliff.

FINRA Eyes Action Against Firms Selling Municipal Bonds

It wasn’t a hedge fund, a proprietary trading desk at an investment bank or a rogue trader that may have been the key trigger behind the “flash crash,” one-thousand-point drop in the Dow.

UMB Fund Services has signed a deal to acquire the managed accounts solutions business of J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corp., does not agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to file charges against it in connection with an industry-wide investigation of guaranteed investment contracts and derivatives, but is discussing the matter, including a “potential resolution,” with SEC staff.

Putnam Investments is expanding its reach into the 529 college savings plan arena, after its 10-year partnership with Ohio Tuition Trust Authority comes to an end in October. Putnam is seeking new opportunities in the nationwide college savings marketplace, including new state partnerships and investment-only mandates, a spokesman from the firm said.

Pittsburgh-based data automation company Confluence has created new software that helps fund administrators comply with new reporting requirements to Rule 2a-7 regarding money market mutual funds.

The Hartford Mutual Funds has unveiled a new portfolio toolbox for financial advisers, powered by Morningstar data. The Hartford Portfolio Toolbox features interactive research and analytical tools from Morningstar, allowing advisers to quickly create professional reports for clients.

Money market mutual funds ended their 18-week losing streak as investors sought the safety of cash in increasingly volatile markets. Total money fund assets rose by $24.23 billion to $2.878 trillion for the week ending May 12, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Declining annuity premiums mean insurers may have to rethink their annuities products in order to survive, according to a report by Scott Hawkins, vice president and insurance analyst at Conning Research & Consulting in Hartford, Conn.

Hedge funds’ take on the wide array of new regulations being proposed for collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps and derivatives, in addition to taxes on risk retention, is simple: Bring it on.