Mutual funds

India’s booming fund management industry has started to decline as the Indian stock market has plunged nearly a third so far this year, Reuters reports.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and US Secretary of Labor Elaine L Choa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize and strengthen the cooperation and relationship between their two agencies. The purpose of the MOU is to share information, related to investments and retirement, to help protect Americans’ $5.8 trillion in retirement assets.

Pacific Investment Management Co., or PIMCO, is embarking in the ETF market.

Fund management firm Philam Asset Management Inc. (PAMI), a division of American International Group, is now offering investors a Personal Investment Program (PIP), aimed at offering investors an affordable savings plan for their future.

TIAA-CREF’s ads for its Individual Retirement Accounts inferred that government and military employees who contributed to their Thrift Savings Plan were up against a time clock because the TSPs “retire.” Fidelity’s ads simply call the TSP “old.” TIAA-CREF has pulled its ads, but Fidelity, claiming all of its communications go through legal review, is still running them.

Faith-based mutual funds have experienced significant growth in a short amount of time, increasing from $500 million in 1997, to approximately $17.5 billion today, according to McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

A year ago, Chinese investors poured their money into mutual funds, believing they would receive huge returns on their investments, Business Times Singapore reports. Since the market bubble began shrinking last October, however, mutual fund investments have declined. Chinese mutual funds have declined 30% in the first half of this year, down 668.8 billion yuan in the first quarter and 413.9 billion yuan in the second quarter.

What’s attractive to the crowd with more $500,000 in investable assets? Investment research from their advisers, apparently.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination released a new ComplianceAlert recognizing common flaws and weaknesses among mutual fund companies.

Pershing Limited, an affiliate of the subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Pershing LLC, recently announced the addition of four mutual funds to its Nexus Funds platform.

New income and precious metals funds are now available for Canadian investors within Investors Group (IG). They are the Putnam U.S. High Yield Income Fund and IG Mackenzie Global Precious Metal Class.

Nearly 80% of fund administrators are concerned with the manual process in current use for reporting and documenting fund information, according to a survey recently released by data management firm Confluence.

Despite difficult market conditions, Americans continued to save more for retirement last year, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The Department of Labor on Tuesday proposed requiring 401(k) plan fiduciaries to supply investors with standard account summaries that will clearly state fees, expenses and any administrative costs such as legal, accounting and recordkeeping charges-in actual dollars. Plans will also have to provide performance figures and comparable benchmark returns, information on investment options and how to obtain more detailed information, including education and/or advice.

BOSTON - Excessive fees in some 401(k) plans are hurting the reputation of all 401(k) plans and shaking investor confidence in what most financial experts agree is a great way for the majority of Americans to save for retirement.

BOSTON - Workers love pension plans, but providing 20 to 30 years of benefits to a huge retired workforce can cripple most companies' profits.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. - The bewildered looks on the faces of young patients in the children's ward of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute were wrenching enough. For Frank Strauss, who had himself become a parent in 1995 to his first child, Nicole, only three months before, the helplessness etched on their parents' faces was far worse.

Investors alleging wrongdoing by their stockbrokers can choose to go to court or face an arbitration panel of three people, including one person from the brokerage industry and two from the public.

Stock mutual funds saw an inflow of $2.39 billion during the week ending July 23, compared to an outflow of $3.02 billion the previous week, according to TrimTabs Investment Research firm.

Second-quarter client assets at Fidelity Investments' brokerage unit grew 2% from a year earlier, to $1.92 trillion.