Fund performance

Franklin Resources managed to deliver a slight increase in profits for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. Profits rose 1.5% to $372.9 million, or $1.65 a share, from $367.4 million, or $1.59 a share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

DST Systems reported net income of $54.3 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2010, a 10.8% decline from the $60.9 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, it earned in the third quarter of 2009.

Morningstar reported it earned $20.8 million in the third quarter, or 41 cents a diluted share, a 7.5% decrease from the $22.5 million, or 45 cents a diluted share, it earned in the third quarter of 2009.

Smaller investment firms deliver stronger returns and better downside protection in volatile markets than larger firms when investing in U.S. large-cap stocks, Northern Trust found.

Spectrem Group’s Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index rose six points in October to zero, a neutral reading and its highest level in nearly three years, and the Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index rose three points to minus 13, a mildly bearish reading.

Waddell & Reed Financial reported third quarter net income of $40.5 million, or 47 cents per diluted share, up 21% from $33.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index, which measures the actual buying and selling of institutional investors, fell 1.9 points in October to 86.2 from 88.1 the month before. In North America, confidence fell even more, by 3.2 points, to 84.9 from 88.1.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly in October after decreasing a small amount in September. The index now stands at 50.2, up from 48.6 in September.

TD Ameritrade Tuesday reported that it attracted a record $34 billion in new assets in fiscal 2010 ended Sept. 30, an 11% increase from assets held at the beginning of the year.

Business owners are not planning to hire and most advisers are not expecting the economy to recover next year.

Janus’ third-quarter net income rose 296% to $32.5 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, up from $8.2 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009.

Northern Trust reported third-quarter profits of $155.6 million, a 17% decrease from the $187.9 million earned in the third quarter of 2009 and a 22% decrease from the $199.6 million earned in the second quarter of 2010.

Expect moderate growth of 2%, led a gradual rise in consumer spending, private-sector investment and more spending by the federal government, at least until the 2011 tax season. That’s what Wells Fargo’s economic group is predicting for the near future of what it describes as a fairly boring recovery.

Institutional investors’ outlook for global growth improved in the third quarter, with more than two-thirds, 68%, saying a double-dip recession is unlikely, a survey of 83 managers by Northern Trust Global Advisors found.

Investors’ outlook is cautiously optimistic, with nearly half expecting gains in the year ahead despite their concerns over the sluggish economy, Scottrade found in a survey.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index reading of the outlook of institutional investors showed a four-point decline in September to 88, down from 92 in August. In North America, the drop was more pronounced; the confidence level fell 7.3 points to 87.9 from August’s reading of 95.2.

In its latest global outlook, Barclays Capital said there is little chance for a double-dip recession and the recent economic slowdown is typical four-to-six quarters into a recovery.

Standard & Poor’s has launched a new U.S. Mutual Fund Excellence Awards program to recognize those funds that consistently achieve the highest ranking in S&P’s five-star rating system.

Fifty-seven percent of money managers view the market as undervalued, Russell Investments found in its latest survey, of 170 senior-level managers. This is the second-highest percentage in survey history. Only 7% of managers believe markets are overvalued.

As a result of debt issues and fiscal deficits, BlackRock said Tuesday that it expects to economic recovery to be "meaningfully slower" in the second half of this year.