Investments

The combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds increased by $486.2 billion, or 4.5%, to $11.267 trillion in September, as investors continued to add to long-term bond funds and pull money out of stock and money market funds, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

Although 78% of chief financial officers think the economy might not recover for another two years, 39% are planning to increase their capital investments in 2011, mostly on new technology.

Investors pull a net $11.6 billion from stock funds during the month, but assets still rose 9.3% thanks to market appreciation.

Franklin Resources managed to deliver a slight increase in profits for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. Profits rose 1.5% to $372.9 million, or $1.65 a share, from $367.4 million, or $1.59 a share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

DST Systems reported net income of $54.3 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2010, a 10.8% decline from the $60.9 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, it earned in the third quarter of 2009.

If your clients’ eyes glaze over at the mere mention of money markets, remind them of the dark days when these safe investments were suddenly risky.

Morningstar reported it earned $20.8 million in the third quarter, or 41 cents a diluted share, a 7.5% decrease from the $22.5 million, or 45 cents a diluted share, it earned in the third quarter of 2009.

The funds invest in TIPS and shorter-duration bonds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed the municipal securities field hearing it planned to hold in Chicago on Nov. 16.

Equity fund pull in more than twice as much as the previous week.

Nationwide says that quality of life for high-net-worth retirees could slip sans annuities.

Smaller investment firms deliver stronger returns and better downside protection in volatile markets than larger firms when investing in U.S. large-cap stocks, Northern Trust found.

USAA has launched two funds that address inflation and interest rate concerns.

Spectrem Group’s Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index rose six points in October to zero, a neutral reading and its highest level in nearly three years, and the Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index rose three points to minus 13, a mildly bearish reading.

The company hopes to use the new office to expand through family offices, financial advisors and high-net-worth invetors.

When it comes to large-cap equity investing, smaller asset management firms are proving to outperform their larger peers in the asset class, according to research compiled by Northern Trust.

Waddell & Reed Financial reported third quarter net income of $40.5 million, or 47 cents per diluted share, up 21% from $33.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index, which measures the actual buying and selling of institutional investors, fell 1.9 points in October to 86.2 from 88.1 the month before. In North America, confidence fell even more, by 3.2 points, to 84.9 from 88.1.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly in October after decreasing a small amount in September. The index now stands at 50.2, up from 48.6 in September.

TD Ameritrade Tuesday reported that it attracted a record $34 billion in new assets in fiscal 2010 ended Sept. 30, an 11% increase from assets held at the beginning of the year.