Mutual funds

The U.S. could see a 70% decline in the number of mutual fund families over the next five years unless regulations are changed to put them on a more equal footing with hedge funds, according to a new report by the Boston research firm Celent, titled: “The Global Credit Crisis: Implications for North American Wealth Management.”

In a final year-end push, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to require mutual funds and the top 500 largest public companies to begin filing financial reports using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

Eight Nuveen Investments closed-end funds have called for redemption of $700 million in auction-rate preferred securities at par.

Harris Associates has promoted Rob Taylor from associate portfolio manager on the Oakmark International Fund to co-portfolio manager, along with David Herro, who is also the firm’s chief investment officer of international equities.

Most executives wouldn't consider themselves "fortunate" if they took over one of the largest fund companies weeks before an historic market collapse.

Direxion Shares has launched six new exchange-traded funds that offer 300% leverage to the markets.

Reserve Funds has informed investors that due to a potential accounting error on Sept. 15, the Reserve Yield Plus Fund might have broken the buck at 99 cents.

Calvert has launched three new funds, the Calvert Large Cap Value Fund, Calvert High Yield Bond Fund and Calvert Short-Term Government Fund.

The majority of money managers feel that the U.S. markets are undervalued, according to the Russell Investments “Investment Manager Outlook” for December 2008. The survey polled 206 asset managers on their expectations for the U.S. equity markets for 2009.

Pioneer Investments has migrated its data management to a DataFlux platform through which its portfolio managers and analysts can analyze and monitor information via a single platform and interface, and IT staff can take a more proactive approach to data management.

The Social Investment Forum has elected five new members to its board, for two-year terms beginning Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011.

Northern Trust Corp. announced Monday that it will cut 450 positions, or about 4% of its workforce, to offset $300 million in third-quarter charges to support its money market funds. This will result in a pre-tax charge of $20 million to $25 million in the fourth quarter, or five cents to seven cents per share.

All asset managers are looking at cutting their budgets next year, according to a survey of 100 firms by SwanDog Strategic Marketing and Financial Research Corp. Two-thirds are looking at cuts of between 10% and 20% and the remaining third are expecting to slash their budgets by 30% or more.

This year's shrinkage in assets under management in U.S. funds could reach 29%, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.

Fidelity Investments announced Monday that its HybridOne platform, launched in June, has attracted $13 billion in assets. The platform is designed for firms with a mix of commission and fee business, which is one of the fastest-growing brokerage segments in the U.S.

Three Named to Board of Money Management Inst.

By overturning a lower court's dismissal of a case against former Columbia Funds executives James Tambone and Robert Hussey, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is permitting the Securities and Exchange Commission to proceed with its market-timing lawsuit against the two men.

David R. Holst, 43, a mortgage broker in Tucson, Ariz., pleaded guilty to gambling $350,000 from mutual fund investor clients. He accepted the charges of securities fraud and filing a false income tax return. Holst admitted to setting up a financial advisory business that pretended to invest clients' money in mutual funds. Instead, he took the clients' money, lost it gambling at a casino, and subsequently doctored statements to make it look like he had created mutual fund accounts for the clients. Holst, who will be sentenced in federal court on Feb. 12, faces up to 25 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

Ready or not, the deadline to update 403(b) plans is here.

Mutual fund companies ask investors to look at past performance and judge their offerings based on their performance relative to a benchmark.