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As Baby Boomers head toward retirement, they will likely decrease the number of relationships they have with financial institutions and reshape the entire industry, according to new research from the Retirement Income Industry Association.

Regardless of the stock market and the hit most people’s 401(k)s have taken over the past year, it is critical for Americans to be committed to save. That is the message of “America Saves” week, Feb. 22 through March 1.

Janus is exiting the institutional money market fund business. “Given the meaningful changes to the competitive landscape of the institutional cash management business,” said Janus CEO Gary Black, “Janus believes it is in the best interest of our clients to focus its institutional distribution and investment management resources on its core business of long-term equity and fixed-income investing.”

Rather than fixate on contributions and current 401(k) balance, a new website, ReviewMy401k.com, gauges investors’ risk tolerance, asks them for a complete list of the choices available in their 401(k) plan and how they are currently invested, and, from that, suggests a portfolio mix of the best funds available to them based upon their needs. It also provides quarterly reviews and updates of the investment mix.

Vanguard has introduced a new, broad market bond fund to be used exclusively by its Target Retirement and LifeStrategy families. The Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index Fund will be benchmarked against the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and is a clone of the $65 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund.

Already, many believe that there is a killing to be made in underpriced mortgage-backed securities. Evidently, one of those investors is PowerShares Capital Management, which has filed two actively managed exchange-traded funds with the SEC. The funds will invest in both prime and alt-a mortgages, but not sub-prime mortgages.

Following the sharp market downturn last year and steep investor redemption, Legg Mason is about to overhaul its entire mutual fund lineup of 142 funds, Matthew Schiffman, head of product and marketing at Legg Mason told The Baltimore Sun. And it’s no wonder, since Schiffman accepted the new position at Legg Mason in November, with the goal of creating a product innovation team.

Baron Appoints Jacobs Chief Distribution Officer

401(k)-Affiliated Advisers May Offer Advice: DOL

BlackRock reported an 84% decline in fourth-quarter income, to $53 million, and full-year 2008 net income of $786 million, a 21% decline. Assets under management only declined negligibly, however, by 3.7% to $1.3 trillion.

Fidelity, Franklin, Legg Mason Suffer Largest Redemptions in 2008

If money managers want to invest in this highly volatile, largely negative financial environment, they must change the way they invest.

Mistakes, bad luck and unexpected events can happen to any firm during good times and bad, but tackling misfortune in a forthright, brutally honest manner rather than trying to sidestep unpleasant truths can mean the difference between a small crisis and a full-blown public relations nightmare.

Fair value reporting seemed anything but fair last October when prices fell off a cliff.

Investors overwhelmingly believe that environmental issues offer tremendous long-term investing opportunities, Allianz Global Investors found in a survey of 1,264 adults with household financial assets of at least $100,000 in December.

In light of the recent market downturn and the difficult position that has left millions of near-retirees, Charles Schwab has launched a new suite of advice and tools specifically geared to investors within 10 years of retirement, called Real Life Retirement Services. Built as a type of social network, the accompanying website gives investors a place to ask questions and share their own experiences, including a survey that shows them how their retirement expectations compare with their peers.

Despite a more than 40% decline in Chinese funds last year, Toronto-based Manulife Financial is determined to launch a mutual fund business in China before the end of the year.

Forward Management LLC is offering investors exposure to frontier markets with the launch of its new Accessor Frontier Markets Fund.

Money market mutual fund assets ended their record climb, falling $28.95 billion to settle at $3.893 trillion for the week ending Jan. 21, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Hedge fund Duff Capital Advisors has laid off approximately 80% of its staff, mostly form its investment teams, Dow Jones reports.