Fund performance

State Street Corp. reported first quarter earnings of $2.002 billion, or $1.02 per common share, down 22.3% from $2.577 billion, or $1.35 per share, in the first quarter of 2008. Total assets under management fell 29% to $1.395 trillion, down from $1.955 trillion, and total assets under custody fell 24% to $11.337 trillion, from $14.9 trillion.

T. Rowe Price’s first-quarter earnings fell 68% to $48.2 million, or 19 cents a share, from $151.5 million, or 55 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue fell 31% to $384.5 million, down from $559.1 million.

Although the number of Americans pessimistic about the economy in April was 49%, according to a Harris Interactive poll, it was slightly improved from the 54% who were pessimistic in April 2008.

The Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index fell 0.1% in the first quarter, and the Morningstar MSCI Asset-Weighted Hedge Fund Composite Index rose 0.5%.

Seventy-five percent of employees at companies that have had layoffs, furloughs, suspended 401(k) matches or that have taken other cost-cutting measures, have faith their employer is taking the right action to strengthen the company, according to a Zoomerang survey for iDashboards.

BlackRock’s first quarter earnings fell 24% to $84 million, or 62 cents per diluted common share. Operating income was $271 million and operating margin was 27.5%.

Actively managed funds continued to drastically trail three Standard & Poor’s indexes over the past five years ended Dec. 31, 2008.

Suspending 401(k) matches for just one year can save most companies millions of dollars a year, but doing so can severely negatively impact participants' savings rates and long-term retirement outlook, and should be avoided, according to Hewitt Associates.

The best way to get investors the lowest 401(k) fees possible is to automatically enroll as many of them as possible into big plans with high contribution rates, according to a study released last week on the economics of 401(k) and defined contribution retirement plans by Deloitte and the Investment Company Institute.

Whether driven by the demands of potential or existing investors, regulators or a new strategic direction, hedge fund and private equity firms are moving beyond their historically entrepreneurial outlooks to enhance their operational risk management, financial controls (SOX and SAS 70) and internal audit.

While mutual funds aren't technically required to start using the short-form, summary prospectus until 2011, companies that switch early could see significant savings in printing and mailing costs.

Crispin Odey, a U.K. hedge fund manager who made a spot-on call last year by shorting banks, believes that financials are now showing some real strength, which could signal pronounced improvement, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The current rise in the markets is not a bear market rally, but actually a turn for the better, according to Fidelity U.K. portfolio manager Anthony Bolton, Reuters reports.

Optimism is returning to the markets, with 26% of fund managers surveyed by Merrill Lynch believing that the global economy will improve within the next 12 months. In January, that measure was net negative 24%.

Fidelity’s net profits fell only 4% last year, and they may be weak again this year, despite cost-cutting measures and laying off 3,000 workers, Fidelity President Rodger Lawson warned employees in a recent memo. As a result, the company may scale back on year-end bonuses and merit pay for those in the middle and lower earnings brackets.

Charles Schwab reported that its first quarter profits declined 29% to $218 million, or 19 cents per share, compared to a year earlier, when it earned $305 million, or 26 cents per share.

Following a three-month investigation, the state of Oregon is seeking $36.2 million in damages from OppenheimerFunds due to steep losses in one of its funds included in the state’s 529 college savings plan; the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund fell 36% in value last year, and is down another 10% year-to-date.

Retirement confidence has hit a record low since the Employee Benefit Research Institute began its annual survey in 1993, with only 13% saying they believe they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, and 25% saying they believe they will have enough money for just basic expenses. Those already in retirement also have downgraded outlooks, with only 20% saying they are very confident.

Rather than stress individual fund performance or investors' malaise in its new advertisements, Fidelity is focusing on providing sound guidance and building on its trusted brand. And that is the focus of the "Guide to Personal Savings" campaign, taglined "Turn Here," Fidelity Chief Marketing Officer James D. Speros told The Boston Globe.

Equity funds were clobbered in the first quarter of 2009, declining 9.25%, Lipper reported last week. Performance would have been even worse, were it not for a surprise rally in March.