Investment funds

Having gone to great, and expensive, lengths to bail investors out of auction-rate securities, which have been severely hit by the credit crunch, some closed-end funds regret this decision in light of UBS’, Citigroup’s and Merrill Lynch’s plan to buy back $40 billion in auction-rate preferreds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

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.

Fidelity Investments is hoping to make it far easier for independent registered investment advisers to open new accounts, by equipping them with the ability to capture e-signatures on all necessary documents from new clients. DocuSign is providing the supporting software, which is encrypted so that only the intended parties can view documents and “e-sign” them by clicking on signature lines.

Curian Capital LLC of Denver, the separately managed account arm of Jackson National Life Insurance Co., is developing a managed account for investors who need their portfolio to produce regular income as they enter retirement.

FolioDynamix, a provider of unified managed accounts technology and services, has acquired SunGard Advisory Technologies, which provides investment management and wealth management platform solutions to financial services organizations nationwide, including brokerage firms, RIAs, asset management firms and banks.

When Fidelity Investments expanded FutureStage last year beyond New York to help young people in underserved public schools in Los Angeles, Boston, Houston and Chicago realize their potential through the performing arts, it had no idea how incredibly life-altering and ambitious FutureStage would become.

Citi has expanded its proprietary managed accounts connectivity hub with CitiConnect, specifically designed for separately managed accounts (SMAs). Developed by Citi's securities and fund services business, CitiConnect is the most comprehensive hub to date for straight-through processing of reconciliation, trading and allocations in the managed accounts industry.

Full Force: SEC Fills All Commissioner Positions

With consumers nervous about their financial health, banks such as Wells Fargo and Citizens Bank see this need as an opportunity. Wells Fargo is making licensed brokers available to customers to discuss risk, assets and investment strategies. The bank's goal is to reach customers who aren't high-net-worth, but still have a mix of products across a number of institutions: deposits, loans, retirement plans, mutual funds and education financing.

Clapp Accepts Sales Post With Fred Alger Mgmt.

As the stock market continues to stumble along, high-net-worth investors are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economy and dissatisfied with the performance of their financial services providers.

Given the turbulence in financial markets, now may seem an inopportune time for financial advisers to make drastic changes to the way they interact with investors.

If you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

The Securities and Exchange Commission could mandate the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) in mutual fund risk return summaries by as early as the first quarter of next year, according to industry experts, putting many fund companies on the data-tagging fast track.

A Florida-based law team is working to help investors of the failed Charles Schwab YieldPlus Fund recuperate some of their losses.

Total money market mutual fund assets rose $32.09 billion to $3.56 trillion for the week ending Aug. 6, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. of Columbus, Ohio, said it has agreed to buy all of the outstanding publicly held class A common stock of Nationwide Financial Services Inc.

Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., is preparing to offer a fee-based advisory service for its retail investment customers, the head of its wealth management and trust businesses said.

The Blackstone Group reported a $165.6 million profit for the second quarter, thanks to huge gains in its hedge fund businesses, according to the International Herald Tribune. The private equity firm’s hedge funds reported $225.2 million in revenue, offsetting other gains and large losses, including a pretax loss of $185.5 million.

Asset manager Threadneedle International Limited has launched two new mutual funds in the U.S., reaffirming its commitment to the U.S. marketplace.