Investment products

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that a 2007 e-mail that a Charles Schwab managing director wrote could prove to be a “mea culpa smoking gun” since the executive says Schwab should tell investors it misrepresented risks in the short-term bond fund.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is considering a bill that would require mutual funds, pension plans and other large institutional investors to publicly reveal how they vote their proxies, to impose proper corporate governance on otherwise passive investors who, seemingly, don't vote in the fiduciary interest of their end investors.

Citing national security concerns, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York pressured American International Group to withhold data about bailout payments passed along to counterparties, according to a report by Reuters.

Earnings seasons continue as worries rise over interest rates and some say now is the time to hedge. Commentary from Asset Dedication, JPMorgan Funds, Bank of New York Mellon and Research Affiliates.

More than 20% of hedge funds have been shut down in the past two years, as 1,500 funds were liquidated.

ShareBuilder 401(k) serves small businesses with a lineup primarily of exchange-traded funds.

Putnam Investments has launched a content-rich Roth IRA Conversion Resource Center, Putnam.com/roth2010, aimed a financial advisers.

Lower participation in employee-sponsored retirement plans is proving to be the challenge.

Investors Flee Cash in Droves

Long-term equity, bond and hybrid funds reaped $14.35 billion in the week ended Jan. 13, bringing the 44-week sales streak total to $441 billion, the Investment Company Institute said.

Third-quarter annuity commissions rose 12.9% to $669.8 million from the previous quarter.

Its largest segment, the private-client group, increased revenue 10% but lending woes in its banking unit hampered results for the quarter.

However, the full year results for the division weren’t quite so rosy.

The incoming CEO has a clear preference to make acquisitions in Europe and Asia.

Who, if anyone, will be his successor?

Profits rose from a year earlier in its fiscal third quarter, but declined slightly from the previous quarter.

The Supreme Court decided not to review a 401(k) fee lawsuit against Deere and Fidelity that was dismissed by a U.S. District Court in 2007, and again rebuffed a U.S. Court of Appeals a year ago.

With so many investors burned by the across-the-board dismal performance of 2008 and continued volatility into 2009, more are likely to conduct due diligence on hedge funds and exercise greater market discipline, said speakers at a recent conference hosted by Cayman Islands law firm Walkers.

Fitch Ratings has revised its ratings on seven money market funds to its highest score, following the launch of its new rating criteria and rating scale.

Jefferies on Wednesday launched the TR/J CRB Wildcatters Exploration & Production ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Wildcatters Energy E&P Equity Index and trades on NYSE Arca.