Hedge funds

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index advanced one point in January to -9, marking the sixth straight month it has been in neutral territory. It declined six points in December.

401(k) investors aided by professional investment advice—be it in the form of a target-date default investment, managed accounts or bona fide online advice—earn nearly 2% more (186 basis points) than those who do not receive such help, according to a joint study by Hewitt Associates and Financial Engines.

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Wealth Management unit has launched a new U.S. marketing campaign, “help2retire_____,” to illustrate individuals’ evolving retirement priorities and personal aspirations. Budgeted at $20 million, it launched Monday and is scheduled to run through the end of April on broadcast network and national cable TV, as well as print and online consumer and trade magazines, including sister publication Financial Planning.

Blackstone Advisory Services Vice Chairman Byron R. Wien, who has made annual predictions for U.S. markets and the economy at the start of the year for the past quarter century, believes there will be a number of welcome surprises in 2010—not least of which will be GDP growth surpassing forecasts of 5%.

As it waits for the fee income that will come once interest rates rise, Bank of New York Mellon will continue to try and control costs and focus on expanding its asset management and asset servicing businesses overseas, the firm said during an earnings call last Wednesday.

BOSTON -- Mutual fund companies must stay on top of their compliance programs, particularly because Congress is likely to pass new financial regulations, executives warn.

Financial institutions will increase information technology spending 2.9% in 2010, after cutting budgets by 2.5% in 2009, according to research and consulting firm Celent.

Last year was a record year for breakaway brokers and this year could be even stronger, according to an executive at Fidelity Investments.

Despite the fact investors are more conservative after getting slammed by the recession, advisers and their clients are optimistic about the year ahead, with advisers looking to grow their business and improve their use of technology.

Hedge funds had their best year last year since 1999, according to the Hennessee Group. The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index gained 24.6% in 2009. Equity indices also gained in 2009, with the S&P 500 up 24.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 18.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 43.9%. In 1999, the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index was up 30.78%.

AXA Distributors, the annuity wholesale distribution unit of AXA Equitable, has created a comprehensive retirement income planning curriculum for financial professionals it is calling “Cracking the Code.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed five individuals to specialize in various areas of investigation and has also created an Office of Market Intelligence to compile the hundreds of thousands of tips, complaints and referrals that the SEC receives each year.

NEW YORK -- U.S. and international regulators are widely credited with having saved the global economy from plummeting into a second Great Depression, and the fragile, recovering economy can expect to see continued support for much of 2010, experts say.

Calamos Investments, which has $30.5 billion of assets under management, has elected to make State Street Corp. its sole investment servicing provider for all of its U.S. and global products. As a result, State Street will expand beyond its current back-office offerings to provide custody, fund administration and securities lending services.

As regulators work to converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), several key differences remain, most notably the different measurement attributes of financial liabilities, the timing and approaches to projects and the difference between fair value and amortized costs.

WASHINGTON — If anyone here is happy to see 2009 in his rearview mirror, it is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

New York-based American International Group Inc. scored a victory in California Superior Court after a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a financial planner.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules that substantially increase protections for investors who turn their assets over to investment advisers, which hopefully will prevent another massive, Madoff-like Ponzi scheme.

The alternative investment services unit of Bank of New York Mellon is launching a service that will confirm the values of assets that hedge funds hold.

Despite still being down from peak highs two years ago, hedge funds attracted $150 billion in new assets in the first nine months of this year, according to a quarterly report by Barclays Capital's prime services division.