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Investor confidence among millionaires rose to its highest level in more than two years as optimism about the economy increased.

Retirement and uninsured medical expenses are the most pressing financial concerns for Americans, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of CPAs by Harris Interactive.

The SPARK Institute filed a comment letter Thursday on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s proposed guidance on 401(k) investment advice. SPARK’s concern is Department of Labor’s attempt to define acceptable investment practices and theory, instead of leaving the decision on what type of advice to offer, be it computer- or adviser-based, to plan sponsors and administrators.

WASHINGTON—Although some of the “most profound” proposals in regulatory reform made during the wake of the economic collapse are now not likely to happen, Richard Ketchum, chairman and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Thursday that the financial services industry still has a responsibility to act aggressively at detecting fraud before it’s cleaning up the mess at the end.

The Department of Labor announced that beginning in August, it will require asset management firms to provide further information on the risks and benefits of investing in target-date funds, including details on their glidepaths, to employers and employees.

Seven of 10 employed individuals have given up on the idea of retirement, according to the 2010 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey.

Fidelity Investments has hired William J. Henderson as chief executive officer of Fidelity Clearing Canada., reporting to National Financial President Sanjiv Mirchandani.

WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department released interim guidance yesterday instructing municipal issuers how to issue four tax-credit bonds as direct-subsidy bonds, as was authorized by a jobs law enacted in March.

WASHINGTON — Republicans, as promised, banded together to block Senate debate on financial regulatory reform legislation Monday, picking up opposition from one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Armed with its first full period of earnings since buying Barclays Global Investors, BlackRock announced its profits quintupled in the first quarter.

As Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reached out to Republicans to get them on board with financial reforms, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who won the seat vacated by former Sen. Edward Kennedy, vociferously defended the mutual fund industry.

Wherever the money’s going, it’s not going to municipal bond mutual funds.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said Monday it is seeking court orders to issue a trading ban against New York-based Tiger Asia hedge fund over alleged insider trading and market manipulation.

NEW YORK—Dividend-paying stocks may be the best option for investors looking for income, said Jason Brady, managing director and portfolio manager of Thornburg’s limited-term income and U.S. government strategies funds, speaking at the annual spring forum of the Financial Planning Association’s New York chapter last week.

Although financial advisers expect 2010 to be a great year, wirehouses are still feeling the turbulence, and concerns about breakaway brokers, although waning, remain, according to Aite Group.

A few months after its acquisition by Intuit, Mint.com has linked up with Intuit Financial Services’ aggregation capabilities, a move that should add millions of potential users to Mint.com’s roster, which currently totals one million people.

The continued migration among wirehouse advisers is creating tremendous operational pressures on asset management, brokerage and operations companies. Top producers expect to get up and running without a hitch. Consequently, non-wirehouse firms are scrambling to implement the necessary infrastructures to support expat advisers with the same or better technical resources they left behind.

Putnam Replaces Managers On Three Funds With Veterans Brookby, Gao

WASHINGTON -- A robust, well-documented oversight process by mutual fund boards can help to keep investor lawsuits at bay, but good documentation is not enough. Experts say boards must also stay on top of a wide range of developments in derivative exposure and potentially misleading advertisements, among other things.

WASHINGTON -- Industry leaders are worried that newly proposed regulations-such as the financial reforms being debated by the Senate and the Securities and Exchange Commission's large trader reporting system-would seriously hinder market activity. But officials argue that such changes are necessary to bring markets out of the dark.