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A.G. Edwards Settles With SEC on Oversight Charges

SEC Enforcement Chief Glozter Joins Bridgewater

WASHINGTON-Financial advisers seek service above all else when it comes to picking separately managed account products for their platforms, according to panelists at the Money Management Institute's 10th Annual Conference here earlier this month.

NEW YORK-Future generations are going to be saddled with tremendous college debt if the financial industry doesn't do a better job of talking to families about the importance of saving for their children's higher education, according to panelists at an AllianceBernstein Investments event here last week, "Perspectives on College Savings."

By Brian Bono, CFA, Senior Investment Analyst, Brinker Capital, and Noreen Beaman, CPA, EVP, Strategic Planning, Brinker Capital

Of the nation’s 100 largest companies, only 31 offer traditional pension plans, according to a study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the Associated Press reports. In 2005, 35 of the 100 largest companies offered pension plans. In 1985, 89 did.

Valuations of stocks in China are now exceeding earnings prospects and the market there is heading for a correction, Bloomberg reports, citing a report from Goldman Sachs. In fact, among the world’s major markets, China’s stocks are the most expensive.

As the $144.5 billion playing field for target-date funds continues to get more and more crowded, the funds are diversifying their holdings to distinguish themselves, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Morningstar columnist Paul Herbert recently sounded a warning to investors against selecting a bond exchange-traded fund over a plain-vanilla bond fund.

With $431 billion in equity and bond index funds, competition has heated up and to attract investors, companies have brought fees down. And those weakened margins are causing some firms to turn to new indexes that they can price higher: enhanced index funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is putting the finishing touches on a rule that would allow fund companies to submit forms to it containing tags on funds’ risk and return information, SEC Chairman told attendees at the Investment Company Institute’s 49th Annual General Membership Meeting Thursday.

With the average China-focused fund rising 36% over the past 12 months, it is no wonder that assets continue to flow to the 16 funds based in North America that focus exclusively on China, currently with more than $14 billion in assets, Morningstar Analyst Samuel Rocco notes.

Warren Buffet intends for the chief investment officers who succeeds him at Berkshire Hathaway to continue his firm’s success. He’s going to pay them a low salary but give them generous incentives to beat the S&P 500, probably on a five-year basis, Reuters reports.

Some industry watchers believe the question about hedge fund regulation shouldn’t be if but when, Mondaq reports.

Speaking at the Investment Company Institute’s General Membership Meeting in Washington, ICI Chairman Martin Flanagan said the industry is committed to improving disclosure in 401(k) plans but that the disclosure should apply to all investments in the plans, not just mutual funds.

Speaking at his company’s annual shareholder meeting, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet said he far prefers index funds to exchange-traded funds because the latter encourages investors to trade frequently, Dow Jones reports.

Mark Coffelt, manager of the Empiric Core Equity Fund, predicts stocks of homebuilding companies will fall steeply further—and warns those who believe these stocks are currently cheaply priced to remain on the sidelines, Dow Jones reports.

Mark Coffelt, manager of the Empiric Core Equity Fund, predicts stocks of homebuilding companies will fall steeply further—and warns those who believe these stocks are currently cheaply priced to remain on the sidelines, Dow Jones reports.

Russell Investment Group is expanding the use of limited long/short strategies in its Quantitative Equity and Equity Q mutual funds. The firm said the change will provide upside return potential without significantly increasing risk.

The Mutual Fund Directors Forum, a group of independent directors, issued guidelines Tuesday on what boards of directors should consider when reviewing 12b-1 fees. The group agreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which recently vowed to review the fees, that the industry has changed considerably since the time when the fees were first instituted.