Mutual funds

After Janus appealed to the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit against it for mutual fund market timing, the high court turned to the Obama administration for its input on the case, Janus Capital Group v. First Derivative Traders.

Last year was the worst year on record for dividends as more companies slashed their dividends than ever before, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Eighty percent of fund managers expect the stock market to continue to rise in 2010, fueled by real corporate earnings growth, rather than aggressive cost-cutting, Russell Investments found.

Seventy-three percent of 3,000 people that the Investment Company Institute polled said they are confident they will be able to retire, thanks to their 401(k) savings, and 90% gave a thumbs-up on the plans, citing their tax advantages, convenient payroll deductions, choices, control and the financial discipline they instill.

Long-term mutual funds took in $3.5 billion in the week ended Dec. 29, marking the 42nd straight week for positive inflows, which now top $416 billion, the Investment Company Institute said.

TD Ameritrade has unveiled a series of tools and resources to help investors better understand how the 2010 Roth IRA modifications might affect their retirement benefits.

Charles Schwab Corp. announced Thursday that it plans to reduce its online equity trade commissions and add new products in an effort to gather customers and assets.

Baron Funds has debuted the Baron Real Estate Fund, a fund that will invest directly in real estate as well as such real estate-related companies as management companies, building products, home furnishings, construction and engineering and infrastructure. The fund even has license to invest in hospitals and correctional facilities and up to 25% of its assets in securities of foreign issuers not publicly traded in the U.S.

Employers that automatically enroll their workers in 401(k) plans tend to match their employees’ savings at a lower level than other employers, according to a report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Janus Capital has selected Richard M. Weil, the former chief operating officer of PIMCO, as chief executive officer.

In a survey of 1,000 people, Putnam Investments found the majority expect the economy to rebound in 2010 but that they are still planning to save more in the New Year.

AQR Capital Management has launched the AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund to appeal to investors’ and advisers’ increased interest in alternative investments in the wake of the Great Recession. AQR funded the no-load fund, available to retail and institutional investors, with $10 million in seed money.

Bob Doll, global chief investment officer for fundamental equities at BlackRock, said U.S. corporate earnings growth—fueled by productivity gains, expanding markets in the developing world, low inflation and a declining dollar—should jump about 20% this year. As a result, stock prices, as represented on the Standard & Poor’s 500, should rally another 12% from their Jan. 4 open of 1116.56, he said.

Vanguard will pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing it of racial bias against a black financial planning candidate and overall bias in its hiring practices.

Investors’ aversion to stock funds and wholesale embracing of exchange-traded, bond and go-anywhere funds in 2009 may not be an aberration but a true turning point in investor behavior, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Wealth Hazards Worry Index now indicates that the number of people who believe the U.S. economy could enter another recession in 2010 now stands at 40%. Only 28% are confident a recession will not reoccur in 2010.

Calamos Investments, which has $30.5 billion of assets under management, has elected to make State Street Corp. its sole investment servicing provider for all of its U.S. and global products. As a result, State Street will expand beyond its current back-office offerings to provide custody, fund administration and securities lending services.

H&R Block has settled with the New York Attorney General over alleged excessive fees it charged investors it steered to its Express IRA. The tax preparer will refund between $11.4 million and $19.4 million to customers and pay $750,000 in fines and fees.

Chinese fund managers are cutting back on their equity exposure to an average of 86.4%, down from 88.3%, according to a Reuters poll. Evidently, soaring real estate prices has many investment managers expecting the Chinese government to impose monetary policies to curb the runaway prices.

A small Atlanta registered investment advisory firm is hoping to drum up business by offering personalized 401(k) advice, but analysts warn that drilling down to offer investment advice to retirement plan participants could be more trouble than it is worth.