Investments

Legg Mason has hired Peter Sundman as president and chief executive officer of its ClearBridge Advisors subsidiary.

Fidelity Investments has been taking advantage of new changes to 403(b) regulations to expand its presence in the higher education retirement business, adding more than 50 new plans this year.

Three hundred and forty four hedge funds liquidated in the third quarter, considerably higher than the previous record of 267 in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to Hedge Fund Research.

The U.S. could see a 70% decline in the number of mutual fund families over the next five years unless regulations are changed to put them on a more equal footing with hedge funds, according to a new report by the Boston research firm Celent, titled: “The Global Credit Crisis: Implications for North American Wealth Management.”

In a final year-end push, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to require mutual funds and the top 500 largest public companies to begin filing financial reports using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

Eight Nuveen Investments closed-end funds have called for redemption of $700 million in auction-rate preferred securities at par.

Harris Associates has promoted Rob Taylor from associate portfolio manager on the Oakmark International Fund to co-portfolio manager, along with David Herro, who is also the firm’s chief investment officer of international equities.

Most executives wouldn't consider themselves "fortunate" if they took over one of the largest fund companies weeks before an historic market collapse.

Direxion Shares has launched six new exchange-traded funds that offer 300% leverage to the markets.

Reserve Funds has informed investors that due to a potential accounting error on Sept. 15, the Reserve Yield Plus Fund might have broken the buck at 99 cents.

Calvert has launched three new funds, the Calvert Large Cap Value Fund, Calvert High Yield Bond Fund and Calvert Short-Term Government Fund.

The majority of money managers feel that the U.S. markets are undervalued, according to the Russell Investments “Investment Manager Outlook” for December 2008. The survey polled 206 asset managers on their expectations for the U.S. equity markets for 2009.

Nonprofit organizations are increasingly eyeing global investments as a way to hedge against the market's current volatility, according to the results of a quick poll released by SEI.

Pioneer Investments has migrated its data management to a DataFlux platform through which its portfolio managers and analysts can analyze and monitor information via a single platform and interface, and IT staff can take a more proactive approach to data management.

The Social Investment Forum has elected five new members to its board, for two-year terms beginning Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011.

Northern Trust Corp. announced Monday that it will cut 450 positions, or about 4% of its workforce, to offset $300 million in third-quarter charges to support its money market funds. This will result in a pre-tax charge of $20 million to $25 million in the fourth quarter, or five cents to seven cents per share.

All asset managers are looking at cutting their budgets next year, according to a survey of 100 firms by SwanDog Strategic Marketing and Financial Research Corp. Two-thirds are looking at cuts of between 10% and 20% and the remaining third are expecting to slash their budgets by 30% or more.

This year's shrinkage in assets under management in U.S. funds could reach 29%, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.

Fidelity Investments announced Monday that its HybridOne platform, launched in June, has attracted $13 billion in assets. The platform is designed for firms with a mix of commission and fee business, which is one of the fastest-growing brokerage segments in the U.S.

Three Named to Board of Money Management Inst.