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BOSTON - Participants at one session of last week's National Investment Company Service Association's east coast regional meeting set their sights on how the managed funds industry is going to market itself to the 80 million Generation Y members.

First there were environmental mutual funds that rewarded do-good companies and those with sustainability sensitivities. Next came alternative energy and climate change funds.

Sincere Joins F-Squared Board

The rapid growth in the exchange-traded fund arena is increasing the complexity of capital gains taxes, writes the Wall Street Journal.

As traditional pension plans are increasingly being replaced by defined contribution plans, retirement income plan providers will need to adjust their tactics in order to keep up with the ever-changing retirement landscape.

Investors should have realistic performance expectations when investing international funds, said Dan Lefkovitz, a mutual fund analyst for Morningstar Inc.

Morningstar's database of hedge funds, excluding funds-of-funds, returned an average of 1.98% during the fourth quarter of 2007, outperforming the MSCI World Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

The rapid growth in the exchange-traded fund arena is increasing the complexity of capital gains taxes, writes the Wall Street Journal.

DALLAS – As the subprime mortgage crisis unfolded in the latter part of 2007 and took its toll on the municipal market – specifically the bond insurance industry – one sector of tax-exempt mutual funds was quietly outperforming all other categories.

According to Morningstar, four formerly closed foreign small/mid-value funds have opened their doors to investors.

A little-known hedge fund was a big contributor to last summer’s subprime mortgage crisis, while the fund itself profited from its skillful swaps, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Early estimates for domestic individual annuity sales for 2007 show they are on a record-setting pace, growing 6% through the first three quarters of the year to reach $189.4 billion, according to LIMRA International.

As asset managers gear up for Baby Boomers' retirement years, Richard "Mac" Hisey, chief investment officer at AARP Financial, took some time out last with to speak with MME Senior Editor Brent Shearer about how investment firms are trying to reach out to Boomers.

The Treasury Department will begin offering Social Security recipients the option of receiving payments by debit card instead of traditional checks, signaling a further effort by the government to move toward electronic technology.

Hedge Fund Managers Add Billions to Bottom Line

Kenyon Switches From Goodwin to Dechert

In a move that could change the way brokers and advisers sell mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released a new report examining public and industry perspectives on investment advisors and broker/dealers.

Two lawsuits and two FINRA arbitration claims filed against the executives, directors, chief compliance officer, portfolio managers and independent auditor of three open-end funds and four closed-end funds managed by an affiliate of Memphis, Tenn., broker/dealer Morgan Keegan & Co., may be the tip of the subprime iceberg for the mutual fund industry.

Mutual fund assets reached $13 trillion in 2007, reaping $1.8 billion over the year, according to Strategic Insight.

Target-date funds recently got government approval as the default option in 401(k) plans. On the other hand, a recent study by Compass Investors, finds fault with the structure of these funds. A recent study from the Compass Institute, a think tank affiliated with Compass Investors, criticizes the structure of target-date funds. It advocates shifting asset allocations based on market and other trends, instead of on a fixed schedule.