Mutual funds

Morningstar reported first quarter net income of $25 million, a 8.2% increase from $23.1 million in the first quarter of 2008. However, excluding acquisitions and the impact of foreign currency conversions, revenue declined 7.1%.

Money market funds lost $8 billion in the week ended April 29, bringing total assets to $3.798 trillion, the Investment Company Institute said.

Although their investments may have lost as much as 40% to 50% of their value, Canadians are resilient in their faith in mutual funds, PricewaterhouseCoopers found in a survey of 867 people who own mutual funds.

Prudential Retirement has entered into an agreement with Hewitt Associates to offer Prudential’s IncomeFlex Target to Hewitt’s retirement plan clients.

Affiliated Managers Group reported that its first quarter profits plunged 80% to $6.1 million, or 15 cents a share, from $31.2 million, or 81 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008.

Only 18% of individuals between the ages of 28 to 53 seek out financial advice, even though they are in the prime savings and asset accumulation of life, according to a survey of 800 investors conducted by Sway Research and Mast Hill Consulting. Most of this group—younger Boomers between the ages of 43 and 53, and Generation X, aged 28 to 42—turn to family and friends for advice on key investing decisions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is holding its annual regional CCOutreach seminars between May and July.

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Fidelity Investments’ parent FMR Corp. one level from AA-/A-+ to A+/A-1, citing a 22% decline in assets in 2008 to $1.25 trillion and trailing performance of some of its equity funds.

Nationwide Mutual Funds has selected Federated Investors to sub-advise three of its money market funds with $5.6 billion in combined assets. They are the Nationwide Money Market Fund, the NVIT Money Market Fund and the NVIT Money Market Fund II.

The mutual fund industry will bounce back to historic inflow levels on the low to medium side, according to Financial Research Corp., attracting between $130 billion and $180 billion a year.

Morningstar estimates that the top 25 mutual fund companies took in $12.4 billion in net inflows in the first quarter, with the research firm’s Director of Personal Finance Christine Benz telling Reuters, “I would imagine that the worst is over for a lot of these firms. It’s hard to imagine a scenario that’s worse than the fourth quarter was.”

Waddell & Reed reported first quarter profits of $15.5 million, down 45.2% from $28.3 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Thirty-six percent of financial advisers are less confident than they were a year about in their ability to manage reitrees’ assets—with most blaming the complexity of retirement income portfolios needing to both generate growth while guaranteeing income, GDC Research and Practical Perspectives found through a survey.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating 50 cases of credit-default swaps and 150 hedge funds, Chairman Mary Schapiro told the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The investigations are in line with objectives of the Obama Administration to overhaul financial regulations.

ProFunds Group has hired Richard Kendrick as managing director, marketing, in charge of all marketing for the company’s exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. He comes to the firm from RiverSource Investments, where he was vice president, asset management marketing.

According to a survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 90% of financial markets executives and government officials believe the returns of the past are over, primarily due to radical restructuring of the financial markets.

Recognizing the need for asset management executives to receive timely insights from financial intermediaries on changing investor tastes, kasina and Horsesmouth have launched Advisor Vision. Through surveys conducted among Horsesmouth's 70,000 members that kasina designs and analyzes, the service provides insight into advisers' behaviors, preferences for working with asset managers and opinions on specific firms and investment choices.

Putnam to Double 401(k) Wholesalers to 10

There has been some talk that the government bailouts and industry intervention are leading America toward socialism. Whether or not that shocking and unsettling claim turns out to be true, the government will undoubtedly take greater control of the financial services industry, and that will stifle innovation, risk, growth-and wealth.

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