Mutual funds

American Century Hires Former Lehman Veterans

Reflecting current financial turmoil, most investors are more attuned to whether a company is viable than to its performance, according to the 2009 Investor Brandscape report from Cogent Research.

If mutual fund executives needed a reason to reexamine their fund offerings, retirement calculators and the way they communicate with investors, there were a number of disturbing reports and news last week that should absolutely prod them to do so. And if fund executives aren't rethinking their entire sales and marketing strategies for 2009 and 2010, they should bet their bottom dollar that investors are painfully aware that they need to conduct reality checks on their retirement pictures.

The events that occurred in the financial services industry over the past year were once thought inconceivable. At this point, regulators are chomping at the bit to reverse how Wall Street does business, and investors are downright spooked. The editors of SourceMedia's business publications offer their views on how these dramatic shifts on Wall Street and in corporate America will impact businesses and investors this year.

NEW YORK - The whole world will be in a recession throughout 2009, economists say, but it will be the U.S. and its strong dollar that lead the world to recovery sometime in 2010.

Millionaires and affluent investors suffered steep losses in 2008, and most, particularly Baby Boomers, are rolling their remaining assets into cash and stable-value investments for the foreseeable future.

Institutions continued to seek safety in money market mutual funds in the latest week, and total assets of the funds grew by $27.13 billion to reach $3.922 trillion for the week ending Jan. 13, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Christopher Wilson, who ran the Columbia Funds unit at Bank of America, has left the company and been replaced by J. Kevin Connaughton.

A small, but growing number of 401(k) investors, burned by the steep negative returns in 2008, are moving assets into such capital preservation funds as stable-value and money market funds, Mercer Consulting reported.

Fidelity Investments has reorganized its institutional equity team, naming Michael S. Cashel, senior vice president, equities, and chief of institutional sales trading. Michael J. McConnell is senior vice president, head of sales trading for institutional equities.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has reopened the $1.4 billion Morgan Stanley Global Infrastructure Fund to new U.S. investors. Later in the year, Morgan Stanley plans to make a similar strategy available to international investors.

Grail Advisors has filed to offer two actively managed exchange-traded funds, the Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF and the Grail American Beacon International Equity ETF. Both will be sub-advised by American Beacon Advisors, a manager-of-managers.

Fidelity Investments has selected James Catudal to run the $6.24 billion Fidelity Growth and Income Portfolio Fund, succeeding Timothy M. Cohen.

Putnam Investments has unveiled a suite of funds that seek to deliver returns of 1% to 7% above Treasury bills.

Reflecting the turmoil in the financial services industry, most investors are more attuned to whether a company is viable than whether its offerings have strong performance, according to the 2009 Investor Brandscape report from Cogent Research.

Baron Funds has launched the Baron International Growth Fund, which will invest in small- and mid-cap companies for the long term, primarily in developed nations, but it will hold some stock in emerging countries, as well.

Financial advisers are telling investors that it is high time they shop around for low-cost funds, particularly given the dismal state of the markets in 2008.

Deciding where wealth management clients should put their money this year is a daunting business, but investment executives at some banking companies seem to wholeheartedly agree on where it should not go: into Treasury bills.

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is working closely with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and other lawmakers to make sure that municipal debt is included in the federal government's economic recovery programs.

A number of large fund companies slashed their advertising budgets by as much as 50% in the third quarter, according to data from Nielsen Monitor-Plus and FRC.