Mutual funds

Americans are growing increasingly worried about having enough money for retirement, but that fear is turning to paralysis, as fewer investors make changes to stem future losses, a new study found.

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

Actively managed funds continued to drastically trail three Standard & Poor’s indexes over the past five years ended Dec. 31, 2008.

Suspending 401(k) matches for just one year can save most companies millions of dollars a year, but doing so can severely negatively impact participants' savings rates and long-term retirement outlook, and should be avoided, according to Hewitt Associates.

Putnam Names Donovan Chief Investment Officer

Fidelity May Cut Bonuses, Merit Pay as Profits Fall

The best way to get investors the lowest 401(k) fees possible is to automatically enroll as many of them as possible into big plans with high contribution rates, according to a study released last week on the economics of 401(k) and defined contribution retirement plans by Deloitte and the Investment Company Institute.

Whether driven by the demands of potential or existing investors, regulators or a new strategic direction, hedge fund and private equity firms are moving beyond their historically entrepreneurial outlooks to enhance their operational risk management, financial controls (SOX and SAS 70) and internal audit.

While mutual funds aren't technically required to start using the short-form, summary prospectus until 2011, companies that switch early could see significant savings in printing and mailing costs.

Legg Mason has just laid off 40 workers, most of whom worked in administrative support in Connecticut and New York. Five of the workers worked in Baltimore. None worked in investment management.

The number of Americans who believe they will live a comfortable retirement has fallen markedly to 41%, down from 59% who believed this in 2002, Gallup found in its annual economy and personal finance survey.

Both retail and institutional money market fund investors withdrew money in the week ended April 15, with the category losing $28.49 billion, the Investment Company Institute said. Total assets now stand at $3.818 trillion.

MassMutual has just laid off 65 workers, with most of the layoffs occurring in its Boston office, and the cuts spanning all departments—including finance, marketing and sales.

Adam Bold, founder of The Mutual Fund Store, is urging investors to stick with their retirement goals and says that if investors choose the right mix of mutual funds, they should be able to have a happy, secure and long retirement, Bloomberg reports.

Small business owners view having a solid retirement plan as critical, both personally and for employees, according to an survey of 1,000 people by SunTrust Bank. Nonetheless, nearly 40% do not offer one.

Reserve Management has returned $45.8 billion, or 89% of the assets in the now-defunct Primary Fund, but is holding onto $3.5 billion to defend itself against more than 30 lawsuits.

The current rise in the markets is not a bear market rally, but actually a turn for the better, according to Fidelity U.K. portfolio manager Anthony Bolton, Reuters reports.

Optimism is returning to the markets, with 26% of fund managers surveyed by Merrill Lynch believing that the global economy will improve within the next 12 months. In January, that measure was net negative 24%.

Direxion Funds has launched four three-times leveraged exchange-traded funds, expanding its existing lineup of 16 multi-directional, leveraged funds to 20.

Although the underlying credit card and auto debt assets in the TALF funds are leveraged as much as 20:1, mutual fund companies anxious to invest in them are telling the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are structured as safe, non-recourse loans, the New York Daily News reports.