Mutual funds

Janus announced some high-ranking executive changes recently.

Fidelity Investments surveyed customers with at least $250,000 in investable assets and the outcome was positive.

Wells Fargo has created two new directorship roles as it looks to enhance client recruiting and retention efforts.

Morgan Stanley and Co. has agreed to pay $100,000 to the New Jersey Bureau of Securities. This came after Bureau investigators found the company was in violation of state securities laws and regulations in its sale of non-traditional exchange-traded funds to investors.

Fund sponsors have long debated the relative merits of building, buying or outsourcing fund administration technology. As sponsors face more and more data-driven demands from regulators and investors, there is increased pressure to adopt new efficient technologies for fund administration process such as expense payments and budgeting, regulatory reporting and financial reporting. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the "build, buy or outsource" question a mix of cost pressures, resources, reporting requirements and technological advances have tipped the balance in favor of "buy" and "outsource."

These are stressful times for the mutual fund industry. An obvious statement, but one authored by a colleague ten years ago. Even more interesting is that the trends cited then are the same concerns that we hear from clients today. So what has changed?

The members of Generation Y, also known as "millennials," have vastly different backgrounds and expectations than the generations before them. Today's 20-somethings can't remember a time without smartphones or the ability to access the information most important to them whenever they need it. It would be easy for some mutual fund managers to assume that millennials lack the same mindset or appetite for risk when it comes to investing and saving than previous generations, and view attracting them to mutual funds as a Herculean task. However, both of these assumptions are false. If managers embrace the technology and engagement with companies they trust that millennials have grown up with, they can successfully grow their assets by appealing to this relatively untapped investor base.

Former U.S. Senate aides Michael Piwowar and Kara M. Stein won confirmation as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The current SEC chairman Mary Jo White was also confirmed to a full term that expires June 5, 2019.

The safety of its employees is top of mind with T.Rowe Price executives. So much so, that the company’s CEO James A.C. Kennedy is weighing whether to remain at its current Pratt Street headquarters in Baltimore.

Legg Mason announced that it has appointed Dennis M. Kass, an industry veteran, as non-executive Chairman of the Board.

A federal judge has dismissed a Texas community bank's case against key parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, arguing the institution, as well as the 11 states and two conservative groups backing it, have no legal ability to challenge the 2010 financial reform law.

Highland Capital Management had a rough ride after the 2008 crisis, logging four years of outflows from its funds. In June 2012, ING and Ivy funds alum, Brad Ross, was brought onboard as president.

Vanguard launched its My Classroom Economy program in March 2011 and as of June 2013, it had reached an estimated 1,320 schools in 44 states, assisting 1,760 teachers in providing a personal financial literacy education to 61, 750 students.

Research conducted by ING U.S. underscores the growing role that retirement income planning continues to play in the readiness levels of working Americans. The study, Retirement Income Redefined, highlights some potential discrepancies in retirement planning ideologies and practices, and reinforces how retirement is being fundamentally redefined.

One of the leading contenders to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, Lawrence Summers, has been a paid consultant to Citigroup and other financial institutions. Opponents of his nomination are sure to seize upon this.

While the regulatory reform effort is likely to continue on its current path if Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve Board's vice chairman, is tapped to lead the central bank, the future is decidedly murkier if Larry Summers wins the post.

Emerging market funds are battered, but there's a strong argument for staying the course.

LPL Financial Holdings reported the strongest quarter in the company’s nearly three years as a public company, with net revenues topping $1 billion for the first time. LPL’s board of directors also announced the company’s quarterly dividend would be raised 40% to 19 cents per share.

Earlier this month, Nuveen Asset Management revealed that its Chief Equity Strategist and Senior Portfolio Manager Bob Doll will be taking on a new slate of equity funds including traditional, specialty and alternative funds.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has launched a new communications program designed to deliver a simplified explanation of its SmartRetirement series of target date funds. Animation and infographics support the easy-to-understand terminology.