Special Program Root Tag

To help the middle-class save for retirement, President Obama may have also given a boost to the annuities sector.

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has launched a new U.S. marketing campaign, "help2retire___," to illustrate individuals' evolving retirement priorities and personal aspirations. Budgeted at $20 million, it launched last Monday and is scheduled to run through the end of April on broadcast network and national cable TV, as well as print and online consumer and trade magazines, including sister publication Financial Planning.

Russell Hires Polisson To Head Global ETFs

NEW YORK -- Online retirement calculators are usually so confusing or overwhelming that the average plan participant logs in, checks their account balance and then logs off without making any changes. Putnam Investments has developed a new retirement income twist it hopes will resonate with investors, plan sponsors and financial advisers.

After the recent massive meltdown, it's no surprise that 81% of registered investment advisory firms and 79% of brokers and advisers now believe that traditional asset allocation relying on stocks, bonds and cash provides insufficient portfolio diversification.

Bill Would Require Funds to Reveal Proxies

Bank of New York Mellon is in talks to acquire the investment servicing unit of PNC Financial Services for as much as $2.5 billion to attract hedge fund and mutual fund clients, Bloomberg reports.

Franklin Resources reported its fiscal first-quarter profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 nearly tripled to $355.6 million, or $1.54 per share, up from the $120.9 million, or 52 cents a share, it earned in the last quarter of 2008. Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.41 per share.

The Securities and Exchange Commission last Wednesday adopted several amendments to Rule 2a-7 governing money market funds that aim to reduce risks by increasing credit quality, improving liquidity, shortening maturity limits and requiring the disclosure of a fund’s “shadow” net asset value.

Fred Alger Management has launched the Alger Dynamic Opportunities Fund, a mutual fund that will invest both long and short, similarly to the privately placed, institutional Alger Dynamic Return Fund.

Federated Investors completed the $178 million initial public offering of closed-end fund Federated Enhanced Treasury Income Fund on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.

Long-term mutual funds ended the week of Jan. 20 with net inflows of $13.18 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute. This brings the sales streak to 45 straight weeks totaling $454 billion.

Now that BlackRock Inc. has become the elephant in the room, the New York-based money manager plans to spend 2010 expanding internationally, developing its exchange-traded fund and defined contribution businesses.

Janus Capital Group enjoyed the benefits of the market recovery and increased demand for its fixed income funds as it posted strong profits for the fourth quarter.

After spending much of the past two years repairing its balance sheet, E-Trade Financial Corp. plans to shift its customer base from just active traders to include more long-term investors.

Despite a strong fourth quarter that saw assets under management and investment fees surge, T. Rowe Price Group Inc. still plans to follow a more conservative strategy than some its peers.

Sun Life Financial is announcing the new Sun Life Rising Star Awards program, through will it will provide more than $1 million in grants, scholarships and financial education to thousands of at-risk youth and the non-profit organizations that work on their behalf. The program recognizes high school students who are committed to furthering their education.

The Great Recession has prompted an overwhelming majority of American workers to believe it’s time for a new and improved model for workplace retirement programs, Prudential Financial found in a survey.

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index advanced one point in January to -9, marking the sixth straight month it has been in neutral territory. It declined six points in December.

Delaware Investments has launched the Delaware Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund in partnership with Macquarie Capital Investment Management, sub-advisor to the fund.