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Charles Schwab has selected State Street Corp. to support its eight new exchange-traded funds with custody, fund accounting, fund administration and transfer agency services. Sin e2005, State Street has provided Schwab with custody, fund accounting, fund administration and securities lending services.

Putnam Investments is betting that actively managed products like its absolute-return funds will resonate more with skittish investors than index funds and exchange-traded products, which might be cheaper but mirror the market's volatility.

Environmentally friendly investing is more difficult than ever. One problem is that most advisors are not ready to answer all the questions clients might throw their way.

T. Rowe Price has launched the Global Infrastructure Fund, a long-term growth fund that will invest in infrastructure-related companies around the world, including the U.S. It is available as a no-load mutual fund or through adviser class shares.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd is not the only lawmaker who stands to lose if a regulatory reform bill is not enacted this year.

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Bob Corker's decision to negotiate directly with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd on regulatory reform may boost the chances of reaching a bipartisan bill, but does not clarify how critical unresolved issues will be worked out.

T. Rowe Price has launched the Global Infrastructure Fund, a long-term growth fund that will invest in infrastructure-related companies around the world, including the U.S. It is available as a no-load mutual fund or through adviser class shares.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $557 million, or $1.19 per share, compared with a loss of $806 million, or $2.71 per share, a year earlier. For the full year, the Connecticut company posted a loss of $887 million, compared with a $2.7 billion loss in 2008.

UBS Wealth Management Americas reported net asset outflows of $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter as the division struggled to regain its footing in the competitive U.S. market. UBS blamed the outflows on advisers leaving the firm and taking clients with them as well as limited recruiting of experienced advisers.

Bruce Berkowitz isn't the kind of manager whose moves make headlines, but they've paid off remarkably well for his investors.

Prudential Financial reported 2009 year-end earnings of $3.411 billion, or $7.63 per common share, a sharp improvement from the $1.14 billion loss, or $2.53 per common share, in 2008.

ProFunds Group has launched eight exchange-traded funds that are three times long or three times short five of the most traded broad U.S. market indexes: the Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P MidCap 400 and Russell 2000. Last year, ProShares Advisors, advisor to the funds, launched plus and minus 3x exposure to the S&P 500.

Commodities, particularly precious metals funds, have been big sellers in recent months, but their good fortune reversed in January, when seven of the worst-performing mutual funds turned out to be concentrated on mining stocks.

While many providers jumped off the variable annuity bandwagon, Sun Life has decided to increase sales.

Merrill hires Courtois, AIG adds an executive, and more.

Investors poured money into long-term mutual funds for the 47th straight week, taking in $7.07 billion in the week ended Feb. 3, the Investment Company Institute said. Sales in the period, now nearing a year, now total $470 billion.

FaithShares Advisors believes investors can have faith and strong financial performance. And now the firm has the initial returns from its Christian exchange-traded funds to prove it.

Advisors who can maintain high production levels this year will be richly rewarded.

The business model for independent brokerage firms is under threat, calling into question the livelihood of over 178,000 registered representatives.

The financial crisis has made a permanent impression on American consumers, who are likely to save 6% or more of their income over the next decade, translating to as much as $800 billion stashed away each year, according to a new study by Allianz Group.