Mutual funds

Hall Capital Names Boneparth as President

The vast majority of retirees opt against voluntarily annuitizing retirement savings. So, insurers need to better educate consumers about immediate annuity benefits.

MIAMI-As the burden of responsibility for retirement planning continues to shift toward the individual, investors should be cautious about "fast analysis" investment advice, a top financial executive told attendees at the NICSA conference here last Tuesday.

U.S. money manager Legg Mason denied market rumors this week that one of its money market funds had fallen to below $1 in net asset value, commonly known as "breaking the buck."

Hedge funds are increasingly trying to attract assets from institutional investors, and in their quest to do so more funds are implementing 130/30 strategies, traditionally a long-only product, according to Investment Dealers' Digest, IMW's sister publication.

Some people have compared playing the stock market to horseracing, which would suggest that being a winner calls for either praying hard and often or studying the stock tables closely. Marek Fludzinski, founder and CEO of Thales Fund Management, said a better idea is to study physics.

MIAMI - Asset managers have been looking to complex trading strategies such as 130/30 funds to create additional alpha, but experts stress that investors should be careful to fully understand these products, and use them carefully.

Some of the municipal bond market's biggest insurers are making significant changes in leadership and structure in efforts to address their current problems stemming from exposure to subprime mortgage-backed securities.

Franklin Resources of San Mateo, Calif., has agreed to acquire a 49% majority stake in Vietcombank Fund Management, the Hanoi, Vietnam-based private equity investment division of Vietcombank. Franklin, parent of Franklin Templeton, currently manages more than $605 billion.

MIAMI-Gary Palmer, chief executive of the Irish Funds Association, led a panel discussion at the National Investment Company Services Association's 26th Annual Conference & Expo here earlier this week, questioning the viability of small asset managers.

restructuring

MIAMI—Gary Palmer, chief executive of the Irish Funds Association, led a panel discussion at the National Investment Company Service Association's 26th AnnualConference & Expo here earlier this week questioning the viability of small asset managers.

Three weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission officially declined the no-action request of Fidelity Investments of Boston, leaders of activist group Investors Against Genocide are feeling victorious. But they still know they haven't won the war to drive through their shareholder-driven proxy proposal.

Prudential Fixed Income Taps New CIO

Morgan Stanley Cuts 1,000 As Mortgages Diminish

Hedge funds are a little too secretive for the appetite of most institutional investors, but if the funds change too much in order to suit a broader audience, they could lose the very thing that made them appealing. The cachet of the inside know on where the smart money is.

IT practitioners and other tech types will kick off this week's 26th Annual NICSA conference and expo in Miami by addressing how fund companies will manage the industry's international expansion.

As the subprime contagion infects new corners of the financial markets, portfolio managers are voting with their feet and moving money into what are perceived to be safer investments.

Two senior-level executives with Julius Baer earned compensation packages worth $120 million in the first nine months of 2007, according to a regulatory filing.

U.S. money manager Legg Mason denied market rumors this week that one of its money market funds had fallen to below $1 in net asset value, commonly known as "breaking the buck."