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Although U.S. investors wouldn't know it, world bond funds enjoyed a respectable year in 2005, a recent report from The Wall Street Journal indicates.

Fidelity Investments Japan's new president is very optimistic that market will surpass the United Kingdom to become Fidelity's No. 1 overseas market by 2010.

Vanguard Group, the nation's second-largest mutual fund firm, will to close two of its equity funds in order to temper asset growth of the funds.

NASD is examining whether some of the biggest brokerage firms inappropriately sold hedge fund products to individual investors, according to Bloomberg.

NEW YORK - The Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed interpretive release on soft dollars has been on the comment block for a good three months now, which is a good two months beyond its intended period, and most industry experts are fairly confident that it will be affirmed in its current form.

A rising stock market and talk of merger and acquisition activity are driving up the share prices of many publicly traded mutual fund companies. According to a report from The Financial Times, it hasn't been terribly tough for managers to beat the S&P 500 this year, which is up 8%. As a result, firms are making a strong showing on Wall Street.

When it comes to protecting shareholders' interests, mainstream and socially responsible investing (SRI) mutual fund managers agree: supporting corporate reforms is key; but when it comes to voting their proxies on other SRI issues, the two types of funds drift further apart, according to a recent study of mutual fund voting records published by The Corporate Library, an independent investment ratings company based in Portland, Maine.

Alarms went off across the country last week when the Commerce Department reported that the national savings rate is near an all-time low, but it's unclear exactly how those numbers should be read by the money management industry.

Starting in May, Merrill Lynch will market its mutual funds under the name Princeton Portfolio Research & Management. The company hopes the name change will appeal more to third-party advisers, who were turned off by selling products named after their competitor.

The Scudder Funds' investment advisor, Deutsche Investment Management Americas, is asking shareholders to approve a host of changes among the funds, most notably renaming the funds DWS Funds, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Along with the name change, Scudder also is proposing a new fee structure, new advisory contracts, consolidation of the board and for some funds to be merged.

Janus Taps New Manager For Flagship Janus Fund

Earn-outs, those additional contingency payments that executives at firms being acquired can earn if specified certain targets are met in the future, are nothing new within the financial services industry. But the earn-out terms of Amvescap's recently announced acquisition of PowerShares Capital Management have raised some eyebrows, as they are extremely optimistic and extend over a five-year period.

Despite economic challenges - such as rising healthcare costs, the federal budget deficit and soaring energy prices - affluent investors with at least $100,000 in financial assets have an optimistic outlook toward the investment climate for the next six months, mostly due to the fact that 50% of them believe it is currently better than it was a year ago, according to the Citigroup Smith Barney's "Affluent Investor Poll," conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates of Washington and Synovate of Chicago.

Male and female mutual fund managers employ different strategies but achieve very similar results, according to a study released by researchers at the University of Cologne in Cologne, Germany.

The deficit reduction bill that Congress passed Wednesday has one benefit for the families of students, and that is equality in the treatment of different kinds of 529 college savings plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

American Century Investments has introduced a new fund that will combine long- and short-term portfolio strategies to garner consistent returns.

Fidelity subsidiary National Financial has introduced a new managed account program aimed at helping broker/dealers and registered investment advisors increase revenue, find new clients and recruit brokers, the company said.

The Vanguard Group has filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer the Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Fund. Vanguard's quantitative equity group, under the leadership of James P. Stetler, will actively mange the stock fund, making it only the second Vanguard fund ever to be actively managed.

Fund scandals and the recent probes in the financial industry have caused retirement plan fees to decrease since 2003, and in 2006 they will continue on their descending path, according to Employee Benefit News.

The House and the Senate are expected to meet soon to reconcile two respective pension bills that would allow advice in 401(k) plans. But even though many expect Congress to update the Employment Retirement Income Security Act because Americans' pension plans continue to be eliminated in favor of 401(k)s, members of Congress are sharply divided over the neutrality of that advice, The Wall Street Journal reports.