Mutual funds

Add target-date funds to the list of headaches for advisers and investors.

WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to issue new rules on the use of derivatives in mutual and exchange-traded funds, Andrew “Buddy” Donohue, director of the division of investment management, told executives Friday at the Investment Company Institute’s General Membership Meeting.

WASHINGTON - The $12 trillion mutual fund industry will hit record sales of 20% or greater in 2010, driven by continued demand for bonds, alternative investments and international equities, Strategic Insight projects.

Dow Jones has added four new indexes to its growing family of required business performance (RBP) indexes. The new indexes are designed to measure the likelihood that companies can deliver the performance required to support their current stock prices.

It used to be that dividend-paying stocks and stock funds were seen as fit only for orphans and widows. But following the market volatility of 2008 and the current uncertainty of the low-yielding bond market, investing in companies that pay dividends is now seen as a prudent choice.

Women are living longer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are prepared for the risks of longevity.

Ameriprise Financial has put the finishing touches on its nearly $1 billion purchase of Bank of America’s long-term asset management business Columbia Management. The original agreement dates back to last September.

Working within existing regulations for 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans, Nationwide Financial Services is proposing 401KIncome, a new choice for workplace savings that includes an annuity option.

Putnam Investments has appointed Kelly Marshall as head of investment product management.

With the fresh spring breeze may come a breath of fresh air for The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., which this week reported a first-quarter profit and improved investment results. This is particularly good news for the insurer, which earlier this month repaid $3.4 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Funds.

Two veterans of the hedge fund world are touting a product they say lets advisers focus less on investment decision-making and more on business development and client service.

In 2011, 401(k) plans will turn 30, but the milestones the mutual fund industry has reached in this time are but a nanosecond in the history of U.S. retirement policy.

Wherever the money's going, it's not going to municipal bond mutual funds.

As the private-label mortgage bond market comes back to life, real estate investment trusts may play the lucrative central role that belonged to banks and Wall Street firms during securitization's pre-crisis heyday.

Treasury Offers Interim Tax-Credit Bond Guidance

In 2011, 401(k) plans will turn 30, but the milestones the mutual fund industry has reached in this time are but a nanosecond in the history of U.S. retirement policy.

The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the asset management industry is expected to pick up for the rest of this year both nationally and globally after tumbling in the first quarter.

ProShares has launched four new exchange-traded funds that seek to provide 200% of the daily return of their respective indexes.

Investor confidence among millionaires rose to its highest level in more than two years as optimism about the economy increased.

Retirement and uninsured medical expenses are the most pressing financial concerns for Americans, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of CPAs by Harris Interactive.