Mutual funds

Khan Heads Development For ING U.S. Wealth Unit

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a website originally created for internal purposes at the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations to fight anti-money laundering, for compliance officers at mutual funds.

It's not so surprising that women earn an average of 80 cents on the dollar men earn. It doesn't even come as a shock that their 401(k) balances are about $57,000, 40% less than the $95,000 to $100,000 men have stored away. That's attributed to the fact women earn less in the first place and often leave the workplace for years, permanently or opt to work part-time in order to raise children and act as caregivers for their elderly parents.

In addition to helping employees save for retirement, a solid 401(k) plan can help companies to attract, motivate and retain good workers, enhance a company's corporate reputation and contribute to the long-term financial success of the business, according to a new study by Charles Schwab.

Ever since those first gatherings under a buttonwood tree, the business of Wall Street has been highly social, with personal contacts, access to information and networking abilities playing a crucial role.

Sharp money managers love market volatility.

The Security and Exchange Commission’s 30-day rule temporarily banning short selling of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stock is set to expire Tuesday night.

It took more than a decade of negotiating to get approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, but actively managed exchange-traded funds finally came to market this year.

Money market mutual fund assets rose by $14.14 billion to $3.575 trillion for the week ending Aug. 13, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Despite the credit crisis — or perhaps because of it — there has never been a better time to invest in fixed-income products, particularly triple-A commercial mortgage-backed securities, according to portfolio managers at Putnam Investments.

A survey of people who are in charge of the finances in their household, “Household CFOs” by the Consumer Credit Counseling Service has found that 68%, or two out of three, are ill prepared to a sudden financial crisis because they don’t have emergency savings accounts.

Analyzing the savings patterns of 11.5 million participants in the 16,723 defined contribution plans it serves, Fidelity found that Americans are holding steady when it comes to balancing their concerns over the economy and the declining market, and saving for their retirement.

Federated, Eaton Vance

Despite efforts by financial services firms to better reach and serve Hispanics and African-Americans, only 32% of Hispanics and 54% of African-Americans are invested in an IRA or 401(k) plan, whereas 72% of “general market” consumers are, according to research by Synovate.

ETFMarketPro.com has just launched, containing detailed information on 600 of the nation’s largest exchange-traded funds and the advantages of ETF investing.

Having gone to great, and expensive, lengths to bail investors out of auction-rate securities, which have been severely hit by the credit crunch, some closed-end funds regret this decision in light of UBS’, Citigroup’s and Merrill Lynch’s plan to buy back $40 billion in auction-rate preferreds, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a website originally created for internal purposes at the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations to fight anti-money laundering, for compliance officers at mutual funds.

Fidelity Investments is hoping to make it far easier for independent registered investment advisers to open new accounts, by equipping them with the ability to capture e-signatures on all necessary documents from new clients. DocuSign is providing the supporting software, which is encrypted so that only the intended parties can view documents and “e-sign” them by clicking on signature lines.

Curian Capital LLC of Denver, the separately managed account arm of Jackson National Life Insurance Co., is developing a managed account for investors who need their portfolio to produce regular income as they enter retirement.

FolioDynamix, a provider of unified managed accounts technology and services, has acquired SunGard Advisory Technologies, which provides investment management and wealth management platform solutions to financial services organizations nationwide, including brokerage firms, RIAs, asset management firms and banks.