Investments

Americans are becoming more realistic about retirement, with 40% of older Baby Boomers currently eligible for Social Security now planning to work a few more years to increase their savings and reach higher Social Security payout thresholds, Charles Schwab’s quarterly retirement pulse survey found.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the dismissal of Jeremy Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores by the District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Fidelity Investments has promoted Jacques Perold from chief operating officer of its asset management unit to chief of the $1.4 trillion division. Meanwhile, Michael Wilens, the former head, has moved over to the retirement unit as head of client management, reporting to Abigail Johnson, head.

Fidelity Investments is planning to launch a mutual fund focused on companies that will benefit from strong Chinese consumer growth, and famed portfolio manager Anthony Bolton is returning to the company after two years in retirement to run it.

State Street has signed an agreement to acquire Mourant International Finance Administration for an undisclosed amount of cash. Based in Jersey in the Channel Islands, Mourant specializes in fund administration for alternative investments. The deal marks a continued expansion into alternative servicing for State Street. Mourant has $170 billion in assets under administration and 650 employees in locations including Dublin, Singapore and New York.

Increasingly positive media coverage of consumer spending boosted the Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator to 38.3 in November, up 1.4 points from a reading of 36.9 in October.

Forty percent of employers surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans said they believe the worst of the economic crisis is over. Twenty-seven percent said they did not think we are out of the woods, and 33% were neutral.

Putnam Investments is counting on its client servicing capabilities to help transform its defined contribution business into an industry leader, according to the head of that business.

The steep losses that mutual funds experienced last year will come in handy this year as funds outside of qualified accounts look to offset capital gains, according to a recent Morningstar report. In fact, funds have up to eight years to harvest losses, which will make them tax-efficient for years to come.

European private equity firm Permira has acquired a financial services firm devoted to retirement preparedness, Just Retirement, for $374 million. This marks Permira’s first financial services investment since setting up a sector team devoted to the industry last year.

Hedge funds are on track to deliver their best performance in a decade, according to Hedge Fund Research. As of Nov. 24, they were up an average of 18.81%. If they rise just another 63 basis points, they will beat their past record in 1999.

Citing modest improvement in the economy and shipping volumes, Federal Express will resume its matches to employees’ 401(k) plans and resume merit pay increases up to 2%, starting Jan. 1.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe ordered Reserve Funds to repay the remaining $3.5 billion remaining in the Primary Fund, minus the $83.5 million the company is setting aside for legal expenses, to investors. The money will be paid on a pro rata basis.

Wirehouse advisors are increasingly shunning separate account programs in which securities are directly held in favor of other types of managed accounts that use mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, annuities or other professionally managed securities because they find the latter gives them more flexibility to control their clients' assets, according to a new report from Cerulli Associates.

Dumas, Leeson, Doucet Join Putnam DC Team

DOL Drops Controversial Advice Rule

NEW YORK - Investors and money managers looking to diversify their portfolios by getting into commodities and commodity exchange-traded funds should keep in mind the volatile nature of these products, as well as the wide range of possible risks, experts say.

Two college-savings companies are borrowing a page from the consumer cash-back loyalty playbook, offering customers rebates on services including refinancing mortgages or opening online bank accounts. Futuretrust, a unit of Destination Maternity Corp., and Upromise Investments have partnered with a series of other financial services companies to offer rebates that can be swept into section 529 college-savings plans.

The financial services industry has been pulling in solid profits lately, but experts say firms should be mindful about how they dole out year-end bonuses and to keep the focus on rewarding long-term performance.

Van Eck Global has introduced the Market Vectors Poland ETF, an exchange-traded fund that offers investors pure-play exposure to Poland, the world’s 18th largest economy.