Special Program Root Tag

Although it has been three years since Janus paid $226 million to settle market-timing charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken three former Janus executives, Warren Lammert, Lars Soderberg and Lance Newcomb, to trial in Denver for market timing.

WisdomTree Retirement Services, a unit of WisdomTree Investments of New York, is the latest firm to launch a platform designed for the 401(k) market that offers plan sponsors a combination of ETFs and mutual funds, or a selection of all ETFs combined into preset portfolios.

Pioneer Investments of Boston has undertaken a global initiative to bring its investment management capabilities to the developing markets of India and Russia. The goal is to be among the top five players in those two markets in three years.

Los Angeles-based AIG Retirement Services launched a new online phase of its first national brand advertising campaign on Oct. 1.

It isn't often that mutual fund firms launch remarkable, truly unique new products. Certainly, exchange-traded, lifecycle, 130/30 and emerging-market funds have been among the most significant and popular offerings in recent years.

OppenheimerFunds CEO Murphy Now ICI Chairman

Funds With Structured Products Turn to Fair Value

Websites of financial services companies offering retirement information are often more frustrating than helpful to consumers, according to a study by a group of website researchers.

In joining the parade of mainstream wealth managers starting alternative investments units, MFS Investments of Boston is making a long-term commitment to giving its institutional investors access to emerging hedge fund managers.

Disappointed by returns, investors in many hedge funds will withdraw as much as $500 billion of their money, leading to the inevitable collapse of a number of hedge funds, the Financial Times reports, citing the predictions of hedge fund-of-funds manager Giles Conway-Gordon, a managing partner with Cogo Wolf.

New research shows that 90% of large and mid-sized 401(k) plans offer target-date funds, but only slightly more than half of small plans have one or more target-date funds in their lineup.

In 1998, when Charles Schwab and Ariel Mutual Funds conducted their first annual Black Investor Survey at the premier Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Summit, 57% of Blacks said they owned stocks or mutual funds. Today, that number remains unchanged. However, in 2002, it peaked at 74%, while in the past 10 years, the number of Whites who own stocks or mutual funds has hovered around 80%.

In an attempt to head off regulation, hedge funds in Europe are proposing that they will voluntarily become more transparent about their holdings, risk management, governance and valuation techniques, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Fidelity Investments will ask shareholders early next year for permission to split the board of directors overseeing its mutual funds in two. The aim is to better monitor the complex securities its portfolio managers are increasingly gravitating to.

AIG is planning to offer higher-yield insurance products in China, China Daily reports.

Manulife Financial and Bank of Montreal are both well positioned to bid for U.S. financial service firms, The Toronto Star reports, citing reports from analysts this week.

Daiwa Securities, the second-biggest brokerage in Japan and the leading provider of separately managed accounts, is taking the formula down market with mutual fund wrap accounts, executives said at the Reuters Wealth Summit in Tokyo.

Although it has been three years since Janus paid $226 million to settle market-timing charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken three former Janus executives, Warren Lammert, Lars Soderberg and Lance Newcomb, to trial for market timing, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

Barclays Global Investors on Wednesday introduced a new suite of investment solutions specifically tailored for company matches in 401(k) plans—the first DC solution specifically designed for matches.

Hedge funds, as measured by the HFN Hedge Fund Aggregate Average, posted their best one-month return in four years last month, rising 3.27%. It was also their second-best one-month return in eight years. Year to date through the first nine months, they are up 9.4%.