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401kDirect will next week begin offering exchange-traded funds through qualified 401(k) retirement plans through its 401k Professionals program.

Mutual fund shareholders have seen strong investment gains in recent times; however it is the shareholders of the actual fund companies who should be celebrating, as they are the ones who have really profited, according to MarketWatch.

The day that the mutual fund industry eclipses $10 trillion in assets is awfully close, but experts say that exchange-traded funds could delay its arrival.

Adam Bold lectures on saving smartly for retirement during his Saturday morning Mutual Fund Show, but not unlike his more animated cable television colleague Jim Cramer, the former Smith Barney broker isn't afraid to tell callers what's hot and what's not, according to a report from SmartMoney.

By investing in oil drillers, zinc producers and gold miners, the Van Eck Global Hard Assets Fund is currently in second place in the natural resources mutual fund arena reported The Seattle Times.

Speaking before the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America annual convention in Washington, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) assured insurance agents that a pension reform bill is coming, and when it does it will allow them to offer 401(k) advice "in some form," according to a report in the National Underwriter.

Besides the mutual fund management fees that 401(k) investors pay, some are being charged hidden commissions, MarketWatch reports, calling it an "insidious form of surcharge."

At the request of investors, fund companies are increasing the equity exposure in their target-date, or lifecycle, funds. Fidelity and Vanguard are two of the biggest firms to do so recently, MarketWatch reports.

Money Management Executive has extended the deadline for entries to SourceMedia's Fourth Annual Fund Operations Awards, to this Friday, May 5.

Vanguard has launched a low-cost dividend fund called the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund. The fund offers traditional investor and exchange-traded low-cost share classes.

Janus Capital Group continues to reap the benefit of its Intech unit, as the quantitative investment group attracted $4 billion in new money in the first quarter of 2006.

Franklin Resources Inc saw its fiscal second quarter earnings drop 11%, marking this the first decrease in three years. The Franklin Templeton Investments subsidiary explains that the decline is a result of bringing back profit from oversees and decreasing the value of assets at one of the firm's trust units, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Fox News host Neil Cavuto slammed AARP for entering the mutual fund marketplace after opposing President George W. Bush's proposal to invest Social Security funds in the stock market, calling the organization "hypocritical."

When someone like Legg Mason Value Trust manager Bill Miller says a particular investment has run its course, odds are he's right, even if everyone else is still singing its praises.

Opportunities abound for mutual fund companies to offer 401(k) retirement plans to small businesses, according to a report from Corporate Insight, "The Big Business of Small Business Retirement Plants." Small businesses make up about 99.7% of all employers and employ about half of the U.S. private sector workers, excluding those who work on farms.

Lipper has launched new lifestyle, lifecycle and hedge fund categories, to be able to more effectively compare peer groups. According to the Investment Company Institute, 15.6% and 16% of 401(k) assets are positioned in lifestyle and lifecycle funds.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox indicated last week that the regulator would seek additional public comment on its independent chairman rule, a likely sign that he intends to forge ahead with one of his predecessor's most controversial measures.

Seemingly lost amid the fervor over the Securities and Exchange Commission's redemption fee rule, its recent guidance on soft dollars, and reports from chief compliance officers to mutual fund boards is yet another regulatory deadline that the money management industry must soon meet: anti-money laundering measures.

NEW YORK - The registration of hedge funds brings with it regulations that can affect the way in which portfolio managers get, and do, business.

National Financial, the clearing division of Fidelity Investments, has launched three new services to assist broker/dealers.