Investments

Fidelity Investments has added five funds to its Spartan equity index lineup: the Spartan Emerging Markets Index, Spartan Global ex-U.S. Index, Spartan Real Estate, Spartan Mid-Cap and Spartan Small-Cap funds. This brings the total number of funds in this family to 13.

While both hedge funds and equities lost value in August, hedge funds outperformed equities by more than five percentage points. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index fell 2.3% last month, but the Dow Jones Global Index of equities declined 7.69%.

Investors yanked $33.6 billion out of U.S. mutual funds in August, one of the biggest months on record with redemptions, according to Strategic Insight. Year-to-date, redemptions have totaled $21.2 billion, according to the research firm.

Sub-advised mutual fund assets will grow 29% over the next five years, rising from $1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion in 2016, Financial Research Corp. predicts. This will result in an 11% compound annual growth rate.

Among current retirees, annuities account for only an average of 4% of household income. That’s the finding of a new study of annuity use among retirees and near retirees just released by LIMRA, the Connecticut-based financial industry research organization.

Sub-advised mutual fund assets will grow 29% over the next five years, rising from $1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion in 2016, Financial Research Corp. predicts. This will result in an 11% compound annual growth rate.

After underperforming its benchmark and losing two-thirds of its assets under the watch of Harry Lange, the Fidelity Magellan Fund has a new manager. Jeffrey S. Feingold is now running the $17.4 billion fund.

While both hedge funds and equities lost value in August, hedge funds outperformed equities by more than five percentage points. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index fell 2.3% last month, but the Dow Jones Global Index of equities declined 7.69%.

Although many financial firms are still facing budgetary constraints, there appears to be at least one area in which spending could grow: buying the necessary data to value the securities institutions trade and hold.

Mortgage real-estate investment trusts have been exempt from the Investment Act of 1940, which regulates the fees that can be charged to investors and limits the amount of leverage a fund can use. But the Securities and Exchange Commission said last month that it had initiated a review of that exemption, as mortgage REITs are beginning to look more like mutual funds.

While 52% of registered investment advisors say a double-dip recession in the next six month is unlikely, their clients are nonetheless looking to reduce expense, cut back on discretionary spending and making more conservative investment choices, according to Charles Schwab’s 10th semi-annual Independent Outlook Study released Wednesday.

With the risk of a second downturn in the U.S. economy rising and debt problems continuing to plague Europe, many investors are shunning the equities market altogether. Meanwhile, the rush to safety in fixed-income investments has driven yields down to “incredibly low” levels, according to analysts.

Analysts at Standard & Poor's are looking to exchange-traded funds rooted in individual countries as a vehicle for advisors and their clients to compensate for sustained weakness in the U.S. economy.

Krusen Capital Management, investment advisor to a hedge-fund platform, has added Boston-based Windham Capital Management to its roster of hedge fund and private-equity managers.

Driving down costs with more technological innovation and avoiding regulatory hurdles and losses through far more robust risk management are two of the key concerns of mutual fund boards today.

Analysts at Standard & Poor's are looking to exchange-traded funds rooted in individual countries as a vehicle for advisors and their clients to compensate for sustained weakness in the U.S. economy.

Instinet said it handled 43 percent more volume in the trading of stocks in the United States in August, compared to July.

Forty-two percent of hedge fund managers became bearish on stocks in August, up markedly from 27% who were pessimistic in July, according to a survey by BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research. This is the largest percentage of bearish hedge fund managers in a year.

The constant barrage of bad news has eroded consumer, investor and business confidence to dangerously low levels.

As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.