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The law firm of Berman DeValerio has filed a class-action lawsuit against broker/dealer PrimeVest Financial Services and two of its subsidiaries for allegedly overcharging investors nearly $5,000 in sales charges on Class A mutual funds by failing to apply sales breakpoint discounts.

U.S. News Media Group has created an online portal scoring 4,500 funds by integrating the rankings of Morningstar, Lipper, Zacks, TheStreet.com and Standard & Poor’s.

After adding 18 wealth managers in the Southeast in the past five months, Wilmington Trust Corp. plans to continue to expand in the region as it looks to cross-sell more products and services to its existing customers.

Bruce Ferris, senior vice president of sales and distribution for Prudential Annuities, he has heard all the objections from wholesalers and advisers concerning variable annuities.

On Wednesday's split 3-2 vote along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved new restrictions on short sales that aim to improve investor confidence in the markets.

Conn. May Reintroduce Hedge Fund Bills

UMB Promotes Macdonald, Outridge to EVP, COO

The U.S. has taken another step closer toward converging its accounting standards with those adopted by the majority of the world.

Fidelity Investments expects its retirement assets to continue to increase this year as both employers and employees become more engaged with 401(k) plans.

Combined assets in the nation's mutual funds decreased by $234.5 billion, or 2.1% to $10.886 trillion in January, according to a survey by the Investment Company Institute.

Fidelity International has fired two Hong Kong-based fund managers for what it said were breaches of its ethics policy, The New York Times reports.

Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the Middle Class Task Force's new report on the middle class Friday, in which he outlined plans to offer automatic Individual Retirement Accounts to most Americans, provided clarification for giving advice to plan participants, and offered a proposal to allow plans to provide guaranteed retirement income products.

As if working for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities wasn’t stigma enough, benefits consulting firm Hooker and Holcombe is using 6% of the money in the bankrupt company’s 401(k) plan to cover the $100,000 cost of winding it down. Across the board, every account in the plan is being deducted by that percent.

If the U.S. mutual fund industry would like a clearer picture of what would happen to sales if fees—particularly up-front, sales load, 12b-1 or 401(k) fees—were disclosed, it need only take a look at the disastrous results in India.

The American Council of Life Insurers is taking issue with a proposal by the White House to tax the “non-earned” income — for advisers, this includes annuity income — of people making $200,000 or more per year at 2.9% to help pay for Medicare.

Privately held Fidelity Investments 2009 annual report indicated a 5% increase in operating profit to $2.51 billion, up from $2.39 billion in 2008, excluding interest expenses and taxes.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions, of which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.K. Financial Services Authority are members, starting in September will ask hedge funds to provide high-level, bi-annual snapshots of: their stock and bond holdings, geographic and underlying currency exposure, leverage levels, sales and redemptions, investor classifications, primary marketing channels, recent performance, and operations and technology details, including turnover, clearing mechanisms and risk measures.

Retirement plans, endowments, foundations and other large investors in North America will turn over $420 billion in assets to new investment advisors, according to the “2010 Consultant Search Forecast” survey of 70 leading investment consulting firms by eVestment Alliance and Casey, Quirk & Associates.

AXA Equitable uncovered a dismal outlook for the economy and retirement in “Retirement in America: A Survey of Concerns and Expectations,” in which it polled both investors and economists and found a large percentage of both groups bearish on the economy and the markets.

Long-term mutual funds had positive sales for the 49th straight week, taking in $5.68 billion in the week ended Feb. 17, according to the Investment Company Institute. This brings sales over the last 11 months to a total of $476 billion.