Fund performance

More than 110,000 people working in finance in the U.S. have lost their jobs so far this year, but that could nearly double to more than 200,000 in the final weeks of the year, the Anniston Star reports.

With redemptions reaching exceptionally high levels, mutual funds are hoarding cash like never before, BusinessWeek reports. Funds lost $68 billion in October and appear to be on track to top those losses this month. By comparison, in October 2007, mutual funds lost $11.3 billion and $9.94 billion the following month.

Reserve Funds will distribute $14 billion to investors in the Primary Fund on or around Dec. 5.

Even as equity values continue to fall and economic woes mount, certain financial services firms will emerge as leaders, and the ones that do will be those that focus on long-term success, according to a report released Monday by management consulting firm Casey, Quirk & Associates and asset management compensation consulting firm McLagan, titled “Crisis in Asset Management: Industry Profitability Under Siege.”

Massachusetts lost another 7,000 in October, the worst month for the state’s labor market since March 2005, the Patriot Ledger reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed two- to four-page mutual fund prospectus profiles will only provide investors with the “quick-and-dirty lowdown,” charges Dow Jones columnist Chuck Jaffe. “It seems a bit inappropriate to have investment decisions based on information that can accurately be called ‘quick and dirty,’ rather than ‘thorough and complete,’” Jaffe said.

Stressing that the reorganization is not motivated by the financial crisis but a strong desire to improve accountability and, with that, performance, Putnam Investments Chief Executive Officer Robert Reynolds announced the firm is doing away with team-managed equity mutual funds. Instead, those funds will be run by single portfolio managers.

If investors have learned one thing from the financial crisis, it is that, eventually, level heads and long-term investing will prevail. In that spirit, sister publication Investment Dealers' Digest recently spoke with a man known for having one of the most level heads in the industry, John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Investments, about what he sees for mutual funds and other investment firms in the years ahead.

The financial turmoil in the markets is far from over, and mutual fund firms can expect assets to continue to decline further, investors to remain skittish, and regulators to be reactive well into 2009, experts say.

In a widely anticipated move last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously approved a requirement for mutual funds to send investors a short-form, summary prospectus.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants to beef up hedge fund regulation as part of his plan for a systemic risk regulator, he said Thursday.

Americans’ consumer attitudes and behaviors have shifted dramatically in the past six months, according to an October study by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

Reserve Funds has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury’s Temporary Guarantee Agreement Program for Money Market Funds, whereby the Treasury will purchase any outstanding securities in the Reserve U.S. Government Fund not sold by January 3.

Investors withdrew $40 billion of assets from hedge funds in October, Dow Jones reports. Coupled with a $115 billion decline in holdings during the month, the $155 billion hit was the worst one-month decline in assets on record with Hedge Fund Research. By comparison, hedge funds lost $210 billion in the third quarter.

Reserve Funds has hired Joseph T. Monagle, Jr. to help the firm sell positions in a difficult debt and credit market.

Because it takes about six months to a year for executive search firms to catch up with the general labor market, a number of recruiters that specialize in financial services are likely to cut their staffs early next year, Dow Jones reports.

While it’s true that many hedge fund investors are planning to redeem billions of dollars, the danger of those redemptions further roiling the markets is low, HedgeWorld News reports.

Hoping to capitalize on the continued popularity of exchange-traded funds even as the markets continue to tank, Barclays Global Investors has introduced a suite of target-date ETFs for 401(k)s.

Stressing that the reorganization is not motivated by the financial crisis but a strong desire to improve accountability and, with that, performance, Putnam Chief Executive Officer Robert Reynolds announced Monday that the firm is doing away with team-managed equity mutual funds. Instead, those funds will be run by single portfolio managers.

A record $156.5 billion was withdrawn from mutual funds in Europe, according to the Lipper FMI report. All asset classes suffered net withdrawals.