Mutual funds

Vanguard founder John Bogle says the mutual fund industry should care more about its shareholders, focus more on long-term investing and create better corporate governance standards.

According to a survey conducted in the first quarter by the Insured Retirement Institute released Monday the overall outlook for the annuity industry is positive. While some challenges remain, respondents indicated the growth industry’s opportunities are strong, with growth for variable annuities ranking 4.1 on a five-point scale, and fixed ranking 3.2 on the same scale.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has increased the number of securities in its coverage of corporate actions announced through its Global Corporate Action Validation Service (GCA VS).

After the so-called flash crash on May 6, and leading up to the $1 trillion debt bailout extended to Greece, the pros at Moss Adams knew how to react. They largely did nothing. There was no dumping of equities across the board. They did not pull up stakes and hunker down in cash positions.

Ninety percent of retail investors foresee market volatility remaining at or above its current level over the next three months, according to a survey by optionsXpress, an options and futures trading technology platform.

WASHINGTON — The recovery zone bond program would double in size to $50 billion and Build America Bonds could be used to do current refundings of existing BABs under a new tax and jobs bill released late Thursday evening by leaders of the House and Senate tax-writing committees.

The naming of Sam Peters to run Bill Miller's $4.2 billion fund is seen as yet another step in the eventual successor plan.

Waddell Mutual Fund Among First Flash Crash Trades

Legg Mason has named Sam Peters, 40, co-manager of Bill Miller’s $4.2 billion Value Trust fund, a move widely seen as selecting Peters to be the eventual replacement for Miller as chairman and CEO of the firm.

Money Management Executive, a SourceMedia publication for executives in the asset management industry, today announced the winners of the 8th Annual 2010 Fund Operations Awards. The awards were presented during the National Investment Company Service Association’s General Membership Meeting in Boston.

The average 401(k) plan balance at the end of the first quarter was up 40% from the year-earlier period, according to Fidelity highlights from its first quarter 2010 401(k) figures.

The SEC, FINRA and national securities exchanges are proposing individual circuit-breakers for every stock available in the U.S. They would set in if a security price moves 10% or more in a five-minute period.

New distribution momentum in bank brokerages and other intermediary channels is a source of good news for T. Rowe, which has been successfully rebuilding its assets under management while it expands its presence overseas.

Putnam Investments will reveal all of the fees in the defined contribution plans it manages through a new sponsor website that launches next month.

A Fidelity Investments poll of broker/dealers and RIA firms found 86% intend to accelerate firm growth and profitability this year by hiring more advisers and brokers, in addition to building new and existing client relationships. Only 2% say eliminating or cutting non-essential costs will be the biggest driver of profitability this year, compared to 27% in 2009.

State Street Global Advisors and Nuveen Investments launched an exchange-traded fund tracking Build America Bonds Thursday, as investment vehicles devoted to taxable municipal debt continue to proliferate.

FINRA Eyes Action Against Firms Selling Municipal Bonds

Municipal bond mutual funds continued to garner cash last week despite the flight from risk that has driven most of the flows this month.

It wasn’t a hedge fund, a proprietary trading desk at an investment bank or a rogue trader that may have been the key trigger behind the “flash crash,” one-thousand-point drop in the Dow.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corp., does not agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to file charges against it in connection with an industry-wide investigation of guaranteed investment contracts and derivatives, but is discussing the matter, including a “potential resolution,” with SEC staff.