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The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has raised the ethical standard guidelines for the 55,000 planners in the nation with CFP credentials, in order for investors to get better help in selecting among increasingly complex financial choices.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Alice Smith is a Power Boomer. A 53-year-old Medicare specialist with a graduate degree, Smith has amassed a stash of cash for retirement, and has a husband with his own account.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Until now, plan providers have been slow to roll out Heath Savings Accounts (HSAs), perhaps because of murky rules, low maximum contribution levels and a seemingly limited business opportunity.

Increased disclosure and transparency of hedge funds, and investors who have pension funds invested in them, were at the forefront of a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week on whether hedge funds pose a systemic risk to the market.

Recently, the National Bureau of Economic Research issued a report debunking the theory that as the 77 million Baby Boomers begin to turn 65 in 2011 and cash out of their stock and bond holdings, the markets will spiral into a bear market. The bureau's argument is that 401(k) assets currently represent only a small fraction of people's retirement portfolios, and as 401(k)s continue to grow markedly in coming years, the influx of new investments will buoy the markets.

Hedge fund companies Haidar Capital Management and Haidar Capital Advisors, along with their owner, Said Haidar, have settled mutual fund trading charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission with a fine of $4.58 million. Haidar and his companies, however, neither admitted to nor denied the charges.

James S. Gandolfo, the senior director and vice president in charge of the health savings accounts business at PFPC, a unit of PNC Financial Services Group, has been elected chairman of the American Bankers Association HSA Council.

Second quarter's market performance was impressive due to record mergers and acquisitions, and investors focusing on corporate earnings and not worrying about signs of future inflation or a slowing economy, according to Lipper's second quarter review and outlook webcast last week.

A retirement guide for women that the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement issued last week brought to light some startling facts.

Lake Shore Asset Management, a Chicago-based hedge fund, had $288 million of its assets frozen by a federal court last week, after regulators stated it overstated its holdings, according to Bloomberg News.

NEW YORK-Managed accounts have been steadily gaining traction, but 2007 may be the year they truly get unleashed, according to panelists at a recent conference here.

Just as in real estate it's all about location, location, location, for mutual funds, it's performance, performance, performance.

NEW YORK-Without a good financial plan, retirement can be anything but relaxing. In fact, even for the affluent investor, adjusting to what should be one's leisure years takes some jarring realizations, said speakers at a recent presentation hosted by the Money Management Institute here.

Brokers Settle With NASD Over Improper Fund Sales

A retirement guide for women that the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement issued last week brought to light some startling facts.

Morningstar Taps Cooley As Chief Financial Officer

U.S. retail investors have had a growing appetite for hedge funds, and now European investors will get the chance to test the waters in these high-return, sometimes risky investments, as Spain is the first European country to introduce retail investors to hedge funds, according to Boston-based consultancy firm Aite Group.

A new, unconventional mutual fund debuted last week that will invest in the scorching-hot private equity market.

Although there have been a smattering of articles about a reformation at Janus Capital appearing over the past few months, none has been as colorful or as compelling as one last week in Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

John Hancock has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges that it failed to disclose $14.8 million in revenue-sharing agreements with 55 brokerages between 2001 and 2004. In exchange for the payments, the brokerages promoted Hancock mutual funds and variable annuities and gave the investment management firm's marketing and sales staff access to their representatives at conferences and meetings.