Investment funds

Fidelity is expanding its three-year-old plan to “virtualize,” or standardize, its servers—so that there no longer is great a bond between data, applications, desktops and storage, and the underlying server and operating system infrastructure— focusing on both x86 and reduced-instruction-set computing, or RISC, servers, Network World reports.

Mutual fund investors appear to be biting the bullet amid market turbulence and talk of the recession, the Associated Press reports. But most of their money is pouting into money market and bond funds, $75 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively, along with renewed interest in dividend-paying instruments.

Genworth Financial in Richmond, Va., has launched a new wealth management division, Genworth Financial Wealth Management. The launch completes the integration of two Genworth companies: AssetMark Investment Services, which it acquired in October of 2006, and Genworth Financial Asset Management.

Fidelity Equips RIAs With e-Signature Software

Khan Heads Development For ING U.S. Wealth Unit

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a website originally created for internal purposes at the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations to fight anti-money laundering, for compliance officers at mutual funds.

It's not so surprising that women earn an average of 80 cents on the dollar men earn. It doesn't even come as a shock that their 401(k) balances are about $57,000, 40% less than the $95,000 to $100,000 men have stored away. That's attributed to the fact women earn less in the first place and often leave the workplace for years, permanently or opt to work part-time in order to raise children and act as caregivers for their elderly parents.

In addition to helping employees save for retirement, a solid 401(k) plan can help companies to attract, motivate and retain good workers, enhance a company's corporate reputation and contribute to the long-term financial success of the business, according to a new study by Charles Schwab.

Ever since those first gatherings under a buttonwood tree, the business of Wall Street has been highly social, with personal contacts, access to information and networking abilities playing a crucial role.

Sharp money managers love market volatility.

As more investors begin to believe that the global economy is in a recession, fears of inflation are dropping, and money managers are turning their concerns from credit risk to leverage.

The Security and Exchange Commission’s 30-day rule temporarily banning short selling of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stock is set to expire Tuesday night.

It took more than a decade of negotiating to get approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, but actively managed exchange-traded funds finally came to market this year.

Money market mutual fund assets rose by $14.14 billion to $3.575 trillion for the week ending Aug. 13, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Despite the credit crisis — or perhaps because of it — there has never been a better time to invest in fixed-income products, particularly triple-A commercial mortgage-backed securities, according to portfolio managers at Putnam Investments.

A survey of people who are in charge of the finances in their household, “Household CFOs” by the Consumer Credit Counseling Service has found that 68%, or two out of three, are ill prepared to a sudden financial crisis because they don’t have emergency savings accounts.

Analyzing the savings patterns of 11.5 million participants in the 16,723 defined contribution plans it serves, Fidelity found that Americans are holding steady when it comes to balancing their concerns over the economy and the declining market, and saving for their retirement.

Federated, Eaton Vance

Despite efforts by financial services firms to better reach and serve Hispanics and African-Americans, only 32% of Hispanics and 54% of African-Americans are invested in an IRA or 401(k) plan, whereas 72% of “general market” consumers are, according to research by Synovate.

ETFMarketPro.com has just launched, containing detailed information on 600 of the nation’s largest exchange-traded funds and the advantages of ETF investing.