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Investors are feeling very optimistic lately; in fact a recent study conducted by UBS shows that investor confidence is at the highest level in a year and a half, with many expressing great confidence in the performance of the stock market.

Janus Capital announced three high-profile investment management appointments Tuesday, naming two executives as co-chief investment officers, new positions at the firm, and a new skipper for its flagship Janus Fund.

The rapidly growing exchange-traded funds shop PowerShares Capital Management has been scooped up by Amvescap in a deal that industry insiders characterize as unusual.

he ongoing investigation into alleged market tampering at Livedoor Co. is having an effect on mutual funds specializing in Japan, The Wall Street Journal reports. Although funds were not, at first, expected to be affected by investigations into this one company, two-thirds of Livedoor's market capitalization has been wiped out and investors in Japan have resorted to panic selling. The sell-off could even become more severe, following the arrest of the company's CEO Takafumi Horie Monday night.

Fuming over stories of drugs, prostitutes and so-called "party dwarves" charged as corporate giveaways for Fidelity traders, NASD and the New York Stock Exchange announced new rules governing gift giving, according to Primedia Insight.

The NASD is set to take disciplinary action against brokerage firm A.G.

London-based fund manager Amvescap announced Monday that it will

The latest Standard & Poor's Indices Versus Active Funds Scorecard

Old Mutual Asset Managers has announced plans to start a statistical arbitrage hedge fund, which will mainly focus on European equities. The firm has also hired Paul Simpson and John Dow of Millennium Capital Management, according to a U.K. publishing group Citywire.

American Funds is in second place amongst industry leaders, outdoing Fidelity and coming up close behind Vanguard. This repositioning of mutual fund giants illustrates a "seismic shift" that has been hitting the mutual fund industry, according to The Financial Times.

ETFs - the new kids on the block - have really made a head way into the financial market as SMAs, hedge funds, mutual funds and 401(k) plans each offer them. Now, it looks as though the rookie funds are making their debut into variable annuities as well, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley is said to be negotiating to buy a controlling share of BlackRock, a New York-based institutional money manager controlling over $427.8 billion in assets, according to Reuters.

As defined benefit plans near extinction, investment management firms are preparing to offer annuities as options to 401(k) plans, according to Pensions & Investments.

Millions of customers with retirement funds invested through Fidelity Investments could be at risk following the revelation of a damaging internal company memo, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Millions of customers with retirement funds invested through Fidelity Investments could be at risk following the revelation of a damaging internal company memo, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Recent volatility in the Japanese stock market following concerns over potential hidden losses at Internet company Livedoor has done little to change the view of many Japan mutual fund investors that Japan's economy is still fundamentally strong, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Susan Ferris Wyderko acting director of the division of investment management. Wyderko, a 20-year SEC veteran who most recently worked as the SEC's director of the office of investor education and assistance, replaces Paul Roye, who resigned in early 2005. Meyer Eisenberg served as acting director until last month, when he left to accept a position as visiting professor of law at Willamette University College of Law.

It's hardly any secret that regulators are carefully examining e-mail archives to uncover wrongdoing, but the recent settlement that regulators reached with UBS Financial Services reveals just how critical the electronic paper trail has become to some investigations and exactly how costly it can be when a firm doesn't retain those records.

While the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce grapple in court over whether Federal regulators have the right to dictate the composition of mutual fund company boards, the fund companies themselves appear not to be waiting for answers.

Rebranding has been a noticeable trend over the last few months, particularly in the mutual fund arena.