Fund performance

With more than nine in 10 shareholders reporting Internet access, the SEC's summary prospectus rule represents more than just an opportunity to provide an easier-to-understand document. The new rule provides a unique chance to refine the overall shareholder communication model.

Last year was a brutal one for mutual fund performance, but that has not prompted bankers to revamp their lineups of preferred funds and fund families-possibly because they wisely erred on the side of caution and prudence in the first place.

Robert L. Reynolds loves a challenge. Without question, he certainly faces one. Trying to restore Putnam Investments' stature among America's top mutual fund companies after the firm's involvement in the trading scandal of 2003 and depletion of assets, now at $99 billion, a mere quarter of what they were in 2000-is a formidable task.

NEW YORK - Most financial transactions are dependent upon trust, but the last two decades of deregulation have eroded that trust and created a global crisis of confidence, according to experts who met last week at a global forum in the heart of New York's financial district.

The only way the financial services industry will recover from the brutal market and financial crisis of the present is to concentrate wholeheartedly on rebuilding investor trust. That was the overriding theme of this year’s Fund Forum Asia, the Singapore Straits Times reports.“High-profile frauds such as the Madoff and Stanford cases have made investors very nervous,” said David Seymour global head of investment management for KPMG. “The investor community is rattled, and confidence will not return easily.”To counter this sentiment, Seymour said, “Rebuild trust and confidence through strong customer relationship management. Historically, the most successful investment management firms have been those which focus clearly on their customers.”And while the market outlook currently remains weak, Seymour is convinced that investment management will bounce back in a “tremendous” way. “Those investment funds which keep their nerve, concentrate on improving transparency and communication with customers, and get themselves in shape for the new financial world order stand to enjoy an exciting and profitable future indeed.”Investors are currently seeking regular income-generating, low-risk products,” said Lester Gray, CEO of the Asia-Pacific arm of Schroders.

Harry Lange, manager of the $18.6 billion Fidelity Magellan Fund, appears to be back on a roll, up 10.6% so far this year after a brutal 2008, Dow Jones reports. Large technology and financial bets took the fund’s value down nearly 50% last year.

Morningstar reported first quarter net income of $25 million, a 8.2% increase from $23.1 million in the first quarter of 2008. However, excluding acquisitions and the impact of foreign currency conversions, revenue declined 7.1%.

Affiliated Managers Group reported that its first quarter profits plunged 80% to $6.1 million, or 15 cents a share, from $31.2 million, or 81 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008.

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Fidelity Investments’ parent FMR Corp. one level from AA-/A-+ to A+/A-1, citing a 22% decline in assets in 2008 to $1.25 trillion and trailing performance of some of its equity funds.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose 12 points in April to 39.2 (1985=100), up from 26.9 in March., and the Expectations Index rose considerably to 49.5 from 30.2 the previous month.

Morningstar estimates that the top 25 mutual fund companies took in $12.4 billion in net inflows in the first quarter, with the research firm’s Director of Personal Finance Christine Benz telling Reuters, “I would imagine that the worst is over for a lot of these firms. It’s hard to imagine a scenario that’s worse than the fourth quarter was.”

Waddell & Reed reported first quarter profits of $15.5 million, down 45.2% from $28.3 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Thirty-six percent of financial advisers are less confident than they were a year about in their ability to manage reitrees’ assets—with most blaming the complexity of retirement income portfolios needing to both generate growth while guaranteeing income, GDC Research and Practical Perspectives found through a survey.

According to a survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 90% of financial markets executives and government officials believe the returns of the past are over, primarily due to radical restructuring of the financial markets.

Recognizing the need for asset management executives to receive timely insights from financial intermediaries on changing investor tastes, kasina and Horsesmouth have launched Advisor Vision. Through surveys conducted among Horsesmouth's 70,000 members that kasina designs and analyzes, the service provides insight into advisers' behaviors, preferences for working with asset managers and opinions on specific firms and investment choices.

The House Education & Labor Committee last week proposed new rules for 401(k) disclosure that will give investors greater transparency into the fees they are paying, but some 401(k) advocates say the new rules are too aggressive and unnecessary.

The 19th Century London financier Nathan Rothschild is credited with having said, "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets."

NEW YORK - After suffering deep losses in their retirement savings accounts, most Americans appear to be in a state of shock, unsure where to move next.

While Denver-based Janus Capital Group said its net profit for the first quarter fell 93%, its outflows have stabilized and executives remain optimistic that the company is in a good position for a future economic recovery.

Federated Investors reported first quarter profits of $35.1 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, down 37% from $35.1 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2008.