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Fidelity slid in net new inflows rankings for January, according to Financial Research Corp. Fidelity's net new client investments in its stock and bond mutual funds fell from fourth place to seventh place in January, or a 77% decline to $1.24 billion from the $5.3 billion it received in January 2004.

Putnam Shakes Up Team On Voyager, Growth Funds

Top 20 fund wholesaler Dreyfus Corp. is putting the finishing touches on its first new national television advertising campaign in six years.

Mounting evidence shows education can indeed help employees make better decisions to build retirement savings, including a recent survey by the TIAA-CREF Institute and North Carolina State University (NCSU).

Court documents reveal that before the former hedge fund Canary Capital began trading electronically with Bank of America, one of its traders, Noah Lerner, had the following conversation on May 10, 2001, with former BoA broker Ted Sihpol. According to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Lerner is outlining to Sihpol that he would time stamp "a bunch of tickets" before 4 p.m. each day, but that Canary would actually provide its trades up to 5:30 p.m.

An article in the March 7 issue misstated the expense limitation of the Fidelity Spartan International Index Fund. Fidelity has contractually agreed to limit fund expenses to 20 basis points, but will voluntarily absorb expenses above 10 basis points.

Fidelity Investments last Thursday announced the launch of its Variable Insurance Product Freedom Funds, a series of seven lifecycle "funds-of-funds" that help investors choose an asset allocation strategy based on their stage in life and their expected retirement date.

Five years ago, the going was good for several Boston mutual fund companies. Now, in the aftermath of scandals and the bear market, those same companies are losing out to once-obscure names, according to the Boston Globe.

Further underscoring their growing role as profit source, the hedge fund segment generated $25 billion, or 12.5%, of total revenues in fees last year for major investment banks.

As lawmakers continued to kick around the political football that Social Security reform is quickly becoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan reiterated his support late last week for President Bush's plan to establish private accounts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's search for a replacement for Paul Roye, the departing head of the SEC's investment management division that oversees the $8 trillion mutual fund industry, is still on, according to Dow Jones.

Deutsche Bank announced Thursday it has appointed Axel Benkner Global Head of Retail for Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) and Axel Schwarzer head of Scudder Investments.

Owing to the increasing mutual fund scandals and surging management fees, Wade Financial Group Inc. recently launched Wade Folios, a mix between traditional mutual funds and separately managed accounts, or SMAs, according to Dow Jones.

Bank of America is reducing the number of firms it contracts with for mutual fund back-office, and PFPC will be cutting 80 jobs as a result, reports the Charlotte Observer.

In the latest development in a number of civil lawsuits nationwide, where mutual fund investors are alleging that several mutual fund companies allowed improper trading in funds, a federal judge lifted the ban on plaintiffs from using documents that would help them build their case against the companies, according to The Associated Press.

Regulators continue to hammer away at Putnam, this time over potential conflicts of interest arising from its multiple role as investment adviser, retirement plan servicer and employer, parent company Marsh & McLennan indicated in its 2004 annual financial report filed Wednesday.

MarketWatch recently profiled five promising mutual fund managers who have been at their jobs for roughly one year.

Two new mutual funds that track the rise and fall of the dollar are becoming more popular, according to Dow Jones. ProFund Advisers LLC recently launched the Rising U.S. Dollar ProFund and the Falling U.S. Dollar ProFund. Together, these funds are among the first mutual funds that invest in currencies.

Investors clearly want a piece of the China pie. And, they're rushing in to get it. The only difference is that they're now directly investing in Chinese companies listed on the exchanges in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the less-regulated exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Exchange-traded shares of three Vanguard international index funds will begin trading this morning on the American Stock Exchange.