Mutual funds

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.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin filed an administrative proceeding Tuesday against Reserve Funds and its founder Bruce Bent, accusing them of lying to investors about the dire straights of their investments in Lehman Brothers.

The average U.S. stock fund plummeted 37.9% in 2008, slightly worse than the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 33.8% loss. It was the Dow's worst year since 1931, when it declined by more than 50%. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 37%, its worst performance since 1937.

Fidelity Hires Cieszko as Institutional Services Chief

Best-Performing Managers Played it Safe in 2008

Advisers Plan to Expand Client Base, Assets in 2009

Variable annuity sales sank in 2008 as the stock market's swoon scared investors off.

NEW YORK - Millions of aging Baby Boomers heeded the reassuring words of their financial advisers and remained heavily invested in equities throughout 2008, only to watch in shocked disbelief as 40% of their life savings disappeared.

Risk management will take on an increasingly important role this year as financial firms struggle to survive the fallout from last year's market mess.

Hedge fund managers have been beating mutual fund managers at scooping up initial public offerings in recent years, but given the weak performance of and loss of assets at hedge funds, their competitive advantage may be waning, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Large asset management mergers and acquisitions deals will likely occur this year, according to a report from Jefferies Putnam Lovell, as firms take advantage of distressed sales and divestitures.