Mutual funds

Investment Company Institute President Paul Schott Stevens testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee on Tuesday to avow that the 401(k) model is working, in spite of the market’s downturn.

With the stock market so beaten down, investors are likely to continue to gravitate to bond funds, including those that invest in corporate bonds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

With vastly lowered expectations for retirement, investors appear more amenable to annuities and other income-generating investments whose scaled-down returns they might not have considered before, NAVA found in a survey of 1,500 financial advisers.

Morningstar has replaced its Individual, Advisor and Institutional structure with Investment Information and Investment Management. Rather than focus on audience segments, the thrust is now product lines and growth strategies.

Morningstar reported third-quarter earnings of $19.3 million, or 39 cents a share, down 3.7% from $20 million, or 41 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2007.

Let's face it. The financial crisis is every bit as insidious as the most pessimistic prognosticators said it would be when the first cracks began appearing in the Bear Stearns hedge funds in the summer of 2007. And while President Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus package last week-hopefully a step in the right direction-there is no telling how long the crisis could continue.

As the global financial landscape continues to reshape, mergers and acquisitions this year will be led by those firms seeking capital or those that have capital in hand, according to Jefferies Putnam Lovell.

Morningstar has developed a series of 18 asset allocation indexes for investors and advisers to use as benchmarks for target-date and target-risk funds.

Mustin Joins Legg Mason As Institutional Director

MIAMI - In their frantic efforts to cut costs, many financial services companies have been jettisoning everything that isn't absolutely necessary to stay afloat. This may work in the short term, but senior leadership is starting to realize the continued need for expertise in regulation and compliance and customer service to provide seamless risk management, transparency and communication.

Benefits consulting firms Mercer and Callan Associates are creating a mega investment consulting shop, as the two have announced plans to merge their operations.

MIAMI - With the average equity mutual fund portfolio down more than 38% in 2008, money market mutual funds are quickly becoming one of the only safe havens for risk-averse investors. Money market fund assets recently topped $4 trillion for the first time, making money funds the single largest mutual fund group, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Separately managed accounts’ claim that they pick only the cream of the crop to manage investors’ money appears to have dogged it in the fourth quarter, The Wall Street Journal reports. Disappointed in less-than-stellar returns, investors withdrew assets from SMA accounts held at brokerage firms at a far more rapid pace than they did from mutual funds.

Putnam Investments has hired David Glancy as managing director and portfolio manager. A leading fund manager in both equity and high-yield debt, Glancy has been asked to also cover bank debt and undervalued and leveraged companies.

RiverSource Investments has launched the RiverSource Recovery and Infrastructure Fund, an open-end mutual fund that will seek long-term opportunities around the world.

Morningstar has developed a series of 18 asset allocation indexes for investors and advisers to use as benchmarks for target-date and target-risk funds.

As the global financial landscape continues to reshape, mergers and acquisitions this year will be led by those firms seeking capital or those that have capital in hand to put to work, according to Jefferies Putnam Lovell.

Of all of the possible defensive investment choices available, healthcare funds are doing the best, up 2.8% year-to-date, The Wall Street Journal reports. Strong earnings, healthy balance sheets, steady demand and industry consolidation are fortifying the sector, which is even beating telecommunications and consumer staples.

Kimberly Mustin has joined Legg Mason as managing director and head of institutional business, Americas.

Anthony Ryan, Under Secretary of Domestic Finance with the Treasury Department until just last month, will be joining Fidelity Investments to develop new products and strategies.