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When the House of Representatives holds a hearing on the merits of 401(k) debit cards, and even Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, says tapping into that equity might be a “creative way to stimulate the economy”—you know they pose a serious threat to both the mutual fund industry and investors’ retirement.

President and CEO of Federated Investors, J. Christopher Donahue, recently announced Federated's acquisition of the Prudent Bear and Prudent Global Income Funds from David W. Tice & Associates at an initial price of $43 million with future contingent payments over the next four years of up to $100 million. These funds have an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion and $502 million, respectively. Federated has begun formulating contracts with current managers of the two funds, including Doug Noland and Patrick Ryan Bend. David W. Tice, will follow these funds to Federated, where he will become the chief portfolio strategist.

Ameriprise Financial finalized a $440 million deal to purchase J&W Seligman in the fourth quarter. The addition of Seligman will provide Ameriprise with additional outlets to sell its mutual funds and further improve its hedge fund business. "This transaction reinforces our growth strategy, and in particular our efforts to grow our higher-margin businesses," Chief Executive Officer James Cracchiolo said in a statement.

State Street Corp. believes market conditions will make it difficult for his Boston company to maintain its strong second-quarter growth, but he hopes to weather the second half by focusing on core businesses, cutting expenses and attracting new customers.

The European Union proposed a new set of rules Thursday to make Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) even more efficient by eliminating additional regulatory hurdles. Most notably, the rules- which will replace 10 directives with just one and go into effect in 2011-will allow cross-border mergers of funds, making Europe's mutual fund industry more efficient. They will also permit master-feeder structures and eliminate much of the administrative paperwork currently required to market funds to other markets in the European Union of 27 member states.

Callan Joins Credit Suisse As Head of Hedge Funds

The small group of money mangers who possess the ability to outperform the market has virtually disappeared, according to a new study, "False Discoveries in Mutual Fund Performance: Measuring Luck in Estimating Alphas," in which the researchers used a statistical test called the "False Discovery Rate" to measure money managers' capabilities in reading the market.

The growing popularity of fee-based advice is prompting mutual fund companies and other investment platform providers to upgrade the capabilities they offer advisers. Fidelity Investments is rolling out a product that allows registered investment advisors and broker/dealers to gain access to account information through a single entry point. National Planning Holdings, a broker/dealer network affiliated with Jackson National Life Insurance, is overhauling its fee-based platform as well.

Don't just retire. "Reengage, reinvigorate, redefine, rejuvenate."

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) are working together to introduce 12 interoperable XML-based message formats to the alternative investment community.

Bad news for the mutual fund industry. The volatile market has stymied the "long haul" game; an increasing number of financial advisers are moving larger portions of their clients' assets into cash positions.

Federal regulators are cracking down on the potential spread of false and misleading rumors that could potentially affect market conditions.

The deadline for entries to Money Management Executive’s Sixth Annual Fund Operations Awards has been extended through Thursday, July 31, so you still have plenty of time to enter.

Citigroup posted a huge second-quarter loss Friday, battered by a big write-down in its investment banking business, but the overall results weren’t as bad as feared and the shares moved sharply higher.

After a sharp fall in the market, assets under management (AUM) within the French mutual fund industry fell 6% last month.

Prudential Financial recently honored five plan sponsors that redesigned their defined contribution retirement programs, helping members to better attain their retirement goals.

Fred Alger & Company Inc. has selected Access Data Corp.'s SalesVision sales reporting and AccessDiscovery data service applications to distribute its mutual funds.

NAVA has teamed with IBM to launch a tool establishing an automated standardized process that streamlines the sale of annuities.

Supporters of pension funds argued before Congress that the plans play a critical role in ensuring retirement security and stimulating the economy.

Bruce R. Bent, founder and chairman of Reserve Management Corp., defended his company’s debit cards linked to 401(k) plans Thursday by saying that they encourage employees to sign up for the retirement accounts and that they reduce the dollar amount of loans taken out against them.