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Among current retirees, annuities account for only an average of 4% of household income. That’s the finding of a new study of annuity use among retirees and near retirees just released by LIMRA, the Connecticut-based financial industry research organization.

Vanguard has announced it will pursue the small 401(k) market, i.e. plans with less than $20 million in assets and fewer than 1,000 employees, with low-cost, bundled plans administered by Ascensus.

Sub-advised mutual fund assets will grow 29% over the next five years, rising from $1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion in 2016, Financial Research Corp. predicts. This will result in an 11% compound annual growth rate.

After underperforming its benchmark and losing two-thirds of its assets under the watch of Harry Lange, the Fidelity Magellan Fund has a new manager. Jeffrey S. Feingold is now running the $17.4 billion fund.

SAN DIEGO--The FPA Experience 2011 annual conference here this week had one of the most colorful Americans in recent history as its first keynote speaker: Frank Abagnale Jr., the notorious imposter and check counterfeiter featured in the hit film, "Catch Me If You Can."

Long-term-care insurance is not a very popular product. It can require many years of expensive premium payments, and any care that is provided may not occur until very late in life. While the easy choice may be to not buy insurance, that may not be the best choice.

The Financial Planning Association, anxious to build its cache of student chapters at colleges across the country, set aside time at the organization’s annual conference in San Diego this week to instruct young attendees how to start their own chapters.

“It’s hard to approach someone" — a prospective employer, for example — and say, ‘I want to be an owner,’” confessed Brett Spencer, a 23-year-old masters student in financial planning from Texas Tech University.

Raymond James & Associates has hired a four-member financial advisor team that was previously producing more than $3.6 million in annual fees and commissions at Robert W. Baird & Co.

First-time attendees of the FPA Experience 2011 annual conference were eager to learn about new events this year centered around the concept of "communities" -- groups of planners of similar ages or specialties. The communities are meant to help attendees glean the most appropriate information for their practices and to better network with their peers.

PALM DESERT, CALIF.—As investors have fled equity funds, the industry’s move into alternative investments has become one of the biggest concerns of directors of the board.

After underperforming its benchmark and losing two-thirds of its assets under the watch of Harry Lange, the Fidelity Magellan Fund has a new manager. Jeffrey S. Feingold is now running the $17.4 billion fund.

While both hedge funds and equities lost value in August, hedge funds outperformed equities by more than five percentage points. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index fell 2.3% last month, but the Dow Jones Global Index of equities declined 7.69%.

Morgan Stanley has announced that John J. Mack will step down as chairman of the firm and leave the board of directors at the end of this year, and James Gorman will take over that position.

Mortgage real-estate investment trusts have been exempt from the Investment Act of 1940, which regulates the fees that can be charged to investors and limits the amount of leverage a fund can use. But the Securities and Exchange Commission said last month that it had initiated a review of that exemption, as mortgage REITs are beginning to look more like mutual funds.

Morgan Stanley has announced that John J. Mack will step down as chairman of the firm and leave the board of directors at the end of this year, and James Gorman will take over that position.

UBS said it estimated it had lost $2 billion from unauthorized trading, by one trader. In connection with the case, London Police arrested a 31-year-old man, in the middle of the night.

Although many financial firms are still facing budgetary constraints, there appears to be at least one area in which spending could grow: buying the necessary data to value the securities institutions trade and hold.

Mortgage real-estate investment trusts have been exempt from the Investment Act of 1940, which regulates the fees that can be charged to investors and limits the amount of leverage a fund can use. But the Securities and Exchange Commission said last month that it had initiated a review of that exemption, as mortgage REITs are beginning to look more like mutual funds.

Upping the ante in advisory firms’ technology integration battles, TD Ameritrade is touting an “open platform” as a differentiator ahead of an October launch of its Salesforce product for advisors.