Mutual funds

Diminishing employment opportunities notwithstanding, 9.5 million retired Americans are considering returning to work at least part-time, according to a study by Charles Schwab. Also, 32% of currently employed Americans expect to hold onto their jobs and delay retirement.

The economy will emerge from the recession in the second half of the year, but growth will be a tepid 2% in 2010, a survey of 23 leading economists by BNA found. By comparison, the U.S. economy grew an average of 3.1% a year between 1995 and 2004.

The majority of financial services firms don’t expect an economic recovery to take place until 2010 or later, with 34% saying they expect a rebound sometime in the first six months of next year and 32% pointing to a future date, a survey of 125 companies by Ernst & Young found.

Returns on target-date funds continue to disappoint, with the five largest 2010 funds trailing the S&P 500 by 11 percentage points since the market’s March 9 low. They are up an average of 25% since that date, well below the benchmark index’s 36% rise, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Munder Names FitzGerald As Firm's First President

Match or No Match, 401(k) Contributions Are Critical

As the economic slump curbs retirement savings and the government considers imposing curbs on target-date funds, Great-West Retirement Services is trying out what its president is calling "the next generation" of target-date funds.

It won't be easy in the aftermath of a global recession, but with the right mixture of transparency and expertise, wealth managers will be able to regain their status as trusted advisers.

In the wake of Bernie Madoff's monumental, $60 billion Ponzi scheme, regulators are proposing to increase accounting safeguards by requiring mandatory surprise audit inspections of every investment adviser with custody of client assets.

Bill Miller, manager of the Legg Mason Opportunity Trust Fund, is showing that he’s still got game. With the fund returning a stunning 48% in the second quarter, it is the No. 1 performing U.S. stock fund for the period.

To realize better synergies between people in its personal and workplace investing divisions, Fidelity is reshuffling about 1,000 staff members in four locations.

Get ready for subdued economic growth in the years ahead, as fear and frugality will dominate the mindset of U.S. consumers for at least a generation, Pimco’s co-CIO Bill Gross says in his July investment outlook, posted on the firm’s website. He projects annual GDP growth rates in the U.S. of 2% a year, down from the historical 3.5%.“Greed will come again. But for now, the trend is the other say, and it promises to persist for a generation at a minimum,” Gross said.While American consumers have been known to have short memories, the fact is, $15 trillion of wealth has been eliminated since early 2007 and the unemployment rate is near 10%, Gross pointed out.He writes: “Our economy’s lights, if not switched off in a rehash of the 1930s Depression, have certainly been dimmed in a 21st century version likely to be labeled the Great Recession. U.S. and many global consumers gorged themselves on Big Macs of all varieties: burgers to be sure, but also McHouses, McHummers, and McFlatscreens, all financed with excessive amounts of McCredit. What a colossal McStake.”

Standard & Poor's, economy

Registered investment advisors reported a rise in new clients, according to a survey released Monday by TD Ameritrade Institutional, a unit of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.

Adviser confidence in the economy and the stock market grew in June, according to Rydex SGI AdvisorBenchmarking.

After postponing his retirement following the sale of Putnam Investments to Power Financial two years ago, Charles "Ed" Haldeman has stepped down from his positions as chairman of Putnam Investment Management, president of the Putnam Funds and member of Putnam Funds' board of trustees, Putnam said Tuesday.

T. Rowe Price has launched the T. Rowe U.S. Large-Cap Core Fund, which will invest in a portfolio of 50 to 75 growth and value companies alike. More than 30 analysts will contribute their best investment ideas, based on a bottom-up approach that focuses on company fundamentals, earnings potential and valuation.

Calling revenue-sharing agreements between mutual funds and 401(k) administrators “controversial,” today’s “Fund Track” column in The Wall Street Journal urges investors to pay attention to these fees, since some funds levy them and others do not. Actively managed funds in large plans, rather than index funds or small plans, tend to charge higher revenue-sharing fees, the column warns.

Noting that one-quarter of employers have either already cut or plan to cut their 401(k) match, financial advisers are reminding investors of the importance of saving for retirement.

Replacing a team portfolio structure with a single top manager and doing away with quantitative strategies has created a new era of accountability at Putnam Investments that appears to be having a striking effect on performance.