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ProFunds Taps Doberman As General Counsel

In a challenge to one of mutual funds' strongholds, exchange-traded fund providers are targeting defined contribution plans.

How far the 401(k) has come since employers first introduced the savings plan in 1981. And how far it has yet to go. 401(k)s, I predict, will become universal in our lifetimes, supplanting all forms of pension plans.

Dow Jones Launches Economic Stimulus Index

While index funds already have a place in the lineup of most 401(k) plans, a proposed federal mandate to require at least one index fund option in these plans is intrusive and unnecessary, according to industry experts.

After several failed attempts, the Securities and Exchange Commission is again revisiting the contentious debate on shareholder proxy voting.

Vanguard Group has just announced it will lower its costs for the 19 investment options in the Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan sponsored by the state of Nevada by an average of 12%.

How far the 401(k) has come since employers first introduced the savings plan in 1981. And how far it has yet to go. 401(k)s, I predict, will become universal in our lifetimes, supplanting all forms of pension plans.

Less than two years ago, investment managers were scrambling to launch their own 130/30 funds, but interest has cooled significantly after these funds largely failed to perform in the recession.

Bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co. is preparing to launch its first exchange-traded fund, according to government filings.

Money market mutual funds regained $15.45 billion in assets as institutional investors continued to seek safety in these products. Total money fund assets were at $3.789 trillion for the week ending May 27, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The U.S. economy will begin to recover by the end of the year but unemployment is another matter, fund managers speaking at the Morningstar conference said.

With investment banking earnings set to improve this year, many executives will, despite government intervention, get bigger bonuses this year, according to compensation consultant Johnson Associates.

Persistent withdrawals brought Man Group’s revenues for fiscal year ended March 31 down by 22.8% to $2.49 billion and net profits down 85% to $503 million from $3.47 billion a year earlier.

Citing the vast disparity in the performance of target-date funds, Morningstar by year-end will begin rating and researching target-date funds to make them more transparent and more easily comparable, for professional and retail investors alike, the research firm announced Thursday.

In November, analyst consensus was that the S&P 500 would decline 17% for 2008 but rebound by 30% this year, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Hedge funds with $100 million or less in assets underperformed hedge fund giants for the first time since 1996, PerTrac Financial Solutions found.

For the 10th straight week in a row, mutual funds took in inflows, the Investment Company Institute revealed. However, the flows tapered off to $9.69 billion for the week ended May 20.

European Union Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy is expected to propose uniform new rules regarding depositories for undertakings in collective investments in transferable securities (UCITs), the European Commission’s version of mutual funds.

Citing in-house investment expertise, New York’s pension plan appears to be trailblazing the way for other pensions to feel confident investing directly in hedge funds, not through funds-of-funds, Dow Jones reports. A year ago, New York’s state pension fund had $5 billion invested in hedge funds-of-funds. Today, at $500 million, that’s a mere shadow of its former self.