Mutual funds

ING Investment Management executives are more optimistic about the prospects of the U.S. economy and equities than many other financial forecasters.

Sensing that the recession is nearing an end but that the recovery will be a long road ahead, Americans are planning drastic changes to the way they approach money, saving and investing, with 18% planning to save more, Country Financial found in a survey of 3,000 people.

ING’s U.S. retirement services division has formed a new business development team dedicated to serving college and university 403(b) funds.

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Despite the financial services industry's downsizing, New York Life Investments is building up a sales force to target the defined contribution market.

The addition of non-managed assets to a unified managed account could be the next step in the product's evolution, but some industry providers are skeptical whether the interest in stock-picking right now is enough for this enhancement to take off.

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Almost a year after new rules governing 403(b) retirement plans for educational and non-profit workers were supposed to take effect, plan sponsors, vendors and third-party administrators are still struggling to comprehend the myriad of changes.

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Most 401(k) and other defined contribution plan administrators and sponsors like the automatic enrollment feature in the retirement savings plans they manage because it gets more people saving earlier, but the involuntary nature of these plans does not diminish the burdens they place on administrators to run them.

Investors made October a strong month for net inflows into open-end mutual funds, and gave exchange-traded funds another stellar period, according to Morningstar.

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 57% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index up 62% since March, there is plenty to celebrate with a market that has been on a pace not seen since the 1930s. The trouble is, while it appears the economy is on the mend, once the $1 trillion in stimulus money is spent and the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates above zero, it could put a damper on the stock market, many fund managers fear.

Fund companies and other financial firms have been effectively using social networking media to differentiate themselves among investors, advisers and even their own employees, according to Cerulli.

Financial services firms are urging Congress to adopt retirement savings reforms in the next few years and are readying products that could profit from them.

Although the recent economic downturn has forced pre-retirees ages 50 to 59 to consider working years longer than they had hoped, their current rate of savings is unlikely to fund the retirement lifestyles they expect, according to the fifth annual Retirement Fitness Survey from Wells Fargo & Company.

Americans, including retirees, are looking to return to stocks to regain the steep losses they suffered in 2008 and are optimistic they will accomplish this, Prudential Financial found in a survey of 1,001 Americans aged 45 to 75 with $100,000 or more in retirement savings.

J.P. Morgan Funds has launched an online version of its target-date fund evaluation program, the Target Date Compass. Aimed at advisers and plan sponsors, it helps them evaluate target-date funds’ time horizon, participant behavior, risk management and asset class diversification, so that they can select funds most closely aligned with the goals of the plan sponsor and participants.

Long-term mutual funds took in $3.14 billion in the week ended Nov. 4, marking the 34th straight week of inflows, which now total $349 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Fidelity Investments has introduced “Insight & Outlook,” actionable market analysis for financial advisers and broker/dealers on its custody and correspondent clearing platform. The program is designed to help these advisers better manage and grow with businesses.

Robert McCann, the new head of UBS Wealth Management Americas, has called on some long-serving Merrill Lynch executives to help turn around the division.

Many parents are looking for more conservative options in 529 plans and are even thinking of forfeiting the tax breaks the plans offer and investing money on their own in bonds, fixed annuities or real estate, The Wall Street Journal reports.