Investments

Global X Management launched the Global X FTSE Nordic 30 ETF on the NYSE Arca on Wednesday. The exchange-traded fund tracks the largest and most liquid companies in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway through the FTSE Nordic 30 Index.

Institutional investors' optimism about the global economy has soared to its highest level in nearly six years, and portfolio managers are putting spare cash back into the stock market, according to the Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey.

While mutual fund executives and analysts warned earlier this year that some of the holdings of stable-value funds were questionable and that they were in danger of breaking the buck, that no longer appears to be true, The Wall Street Journal reports.

High-yield bond funds have returned an outstanding 33% year-to-date and attracted $14.6 billion in assets, TheStreet.com reports. And for the 10 years through the end of July, high-yield bonds gained 2.9% annually, compared with the 2.2% loss in the S&P 500 Index.

It is remarkable that the federal appeals court judge who dissented on the Jones v. Harris Associates case made a point of saying that executive compensation needs to be reined in, The New York Times reports.

A full 70% of Americans aren’t sure how they’ll be able to save enough for retirement, Bankrate.com found in a recent survey. Another 50% worry about being able to send a child through college.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued a joint investor alert today warning investors about the risks associated with leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds.

Mutual funds that focus on a select sector or small number of stocks are outperforming more broadly based portfolios, The Wall Street Journal reports. These funds rely on in-depth research to invest in only a couple dozen of stocks, rather than the average 172. Thus, they are riskier—but have the potential for outsized returns.

After almost a year in federal receivership, in which chunks of the giant corporation have been sold off, American International Group (AIG) has ended negotiations to sell its Advisor Group of independent broker/dealers. The group had been on the market for roughly 10 months.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Monday filed fraud charges against Charles Schwab & Co., alleging it misled investors about the risks of auction-rate securities.

Affiliated Computer Services has joined the growing list of service providers offering 401(k) analytic tools for plan sponsors.

JennisonDryden, the fund family of Prudential Financial, has added the Dryden Total Return Bond Fund to its lineup of asset allocation funds.

Investors dropped almost $44 billion into open-end mutual funds in July, bringing the year-to-date total for inflows to $171 billion, according to data released by Morningstar. Taxable bond funds were the overwhelming favorite, taking 59%, or $26 billion of July's proceeds.

Hunter Named President, CEO of Westrock Group

Actively Managed Funds Up 15.82%, Beating S&P by Five Percentage Points

DST Systems, Inc. this year celebrates 40 years of providing market-leading solutions to the mutual fund industry. In recognition of this milestone, Money Management Executive asked DST's senior leadership to identify ways investment management companies can maximize the value they deliver to their stakeholders by leveraging the strengths and resources of a service provider.

While most asset managers have survived the global financial crisis, they still face many uncertainties: internal cost pressures, changes in products, heightened investor demands, headcount reductions, fund closures and tighter regulatory scrutiny.

With a little cooperation, 403(b) retirement plans for educational and governmental workers can move even closer to resembling their 401(k) counterparts, become more streamlined and boost participation, but first, industry participants will need to agree on best practices for the plans that will help everyone speak the same language.

The commissioners and staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission have been working around the clock, looking for ways to refine and improve regulations in the aftermath of one of the worst recessions in history, but this important work takes a delicate touch. Changes to one area could have unexpected ramifications to other areas, and every move must be planned with care and consideration.

Seventy-three percent of Baby Boomers who own a traditional IRA are not planning to convert it to a Roth IRA in 2010, when the previous household income limit of $100,000 will be eliminated, USAA Wealth Management found in a survey. Any investor who converts in 2010 will have two years to pay the taxes.