Mutual funds

The House Education & Labor Committee last week proposed new rules for 401(k) disclosure that will give investors greater transparency into the fees they are paying, but some 401(k) advocates say the new rules are too aggressive and unnecessary.

The 19th Century London financier Nathan Rothschild is credited with having said, "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets."

NEW YORK - After suffering deep losses in their retirement savings accounts, most Americans appear to be in a state of shock, unsure where to move next.

Morningstar is acquiring the equity research and data business of Computerized Portfolio Management Services of Toronto for C$16.1 million. The companies expect to complete the sale in the second quarter.

While Denver-based Janus Capital Group said its net profit for the first quarter fell 93%, its outflows have stabilized and executives remain optimistic that the company is in a good position for a future economic recovery.

Total assets in money market mutual funds fell for the third straight week, dropping $11.34 billion to $3.806 trillion for the week ending April 22, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Federated Investors reported first quarter profits of $35.1 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, down 37% from $35.1 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2008.

Fidelity Investments has promoted Brian B. Hogan to president of the equity division of Fidelity Management & Research Co., the investment advisor to the firm’s mutual funds. A 15-year veteran of Fidelity, Hogan most recently was senior vice president of equity research.

TD Asset Management has launched the TD AM Global Sustainability Fund, which is available only to institutional investors.

The “Sixty Minutes” segment on 401(k)s that slammed them as being mediocre offerings with hidden fees is not the only shot being taken at the defined contribution model—not by a long shot.

Amazingly enough, Generation Y tops any other age group in saving: 44% versus 36% of the general population, Money Management International found in its Financial Literacy Survey.

State Street Corp. reported first quarter earnings of $2.002 billion, or $1.02 per common share, down 22.3% from $2.577 billion, or $1.35 per share, in the first quarter of 2008. Total assets under management fell 29% to $1.395 trillion, down from $1.955 trillion, and total assets under custody fell 24% to $11.337 trillion, from $14.9 trillion.

T. Rowe Price’s first-quarter earnings fell 68% to $48.2 million, or 19 cents a share, from $151.5 million, or 55 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue fell 31% to $384.5 million, down from $559.1 million.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. is allowing non-U.S. financial firms to take advantage of the access, low costs and risk-management protection of its Mutual Fund Services, including Fund/SERV. It is the first time that DTCC has opened up these services to non-U.S. firms.

The House Education & Labor Committee has introduced the Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009, which would require 401(k) plans to clearly state all fees with the aim of helping workers shop around for the best retirement options.

Seventy-five percent of employees at companies that have had layoffs, furloughs, suspended 401(k) matches or that have taken other cost-cutting measures, have faith their employer is taking the right action to strengthen the company, according to a Zoomerang survey for iDashboards.

More small private foundations are dissolving and moving their assets into low-cost, flexible donor-advised funds, sometimes called charitable funds, run by mutual fund companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

JennisonDryden has reopened the Jennison Health Sciences Fund to new investors, having closed it in July 2005. JennisonDryden is the proprietary fund family of Prudential Financial.

President Obama and Congress are both committed to finding new energy sources, and as such, alternative energy and infrastructure will be dominant investment themes of 2010, according to Calvert Investments and KBC Asset Management International.

BlackRock’s first quarter earnings fell 24% to $84 million, or 62 cents per diluted common share. Operating income was $271 million and operating margin was 27.5%.