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March 8, 2010

 Past Issues

Mutual Funds

Week In Review

Endowment Assets Expected to Change Hands in 2010, RIAs Claim $1 Million Not Enough For Retirement, Schwab Says Frugal is the New Normal, 72% of Workers Age 60+ Putting Off Retirement, Hedge Fund Assets Grew 62% in '09 to $1.96 Trillion, and Madoff 401(k) Funds Being Used to Terminate Plan.

JPMorgan Eyes Top-Five Status for Fund Unit

Being owned by a bank has handcuffed many mutual fund units. Just don't tell that to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s J.P. Morgan Funds. The unit increased its assets under management 6.97% last year to $445 billion and now has its sights set on developing more assets through banks to move up the rankings from the 10th-largest fund company to become one of the top five.

401(k)s

DOL Rule Emphasizes Independent 401(k) Advice

Bona fide 401(k) investment advice could finally become standard practice in defined contribution plans, thanks to the Department of Labor's proposed rules limiting the actions of investment professionals who take commissions. "The concern is that we don't want [workers] steered in a direction that may not be best for them simply because that's the way the adviser can make more money," said Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the DOL.

Retirement

Fear of Investment Losses Could Take Serious Toll on Retirement

AXA Equitable uncovered a dismal outlook for the economy and retirement in "Retirement in America: A Survey of Concerns and Expectations," in which it polled both investors and economists and found a large percentage of both groups bearish on the economy and the stock and bond markets. Twenty-four percent of consumers and 12% of economists believe the economy will continue to be volatile with no clear pattern of improvement. Eleven percent of consumers and 16% of economists believe the nation could sink back into a recession.

Ops & Tech

Money Fund Rule First Big Test for XML

The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken a major step toward structured, automated reporting with its requirement that all money market fund activity be filed using the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data-tagging format-an aspect of the updated Rule 2a-7 that was overshadowed by its net asset value disclosure requirements. "This rule is a significant move toward industry adoption of structured content for regulatory reporting," said Scott Powell, a senior market analyst at the Pittsburgh-based data automation company Confluence.

Editor's Desk

Tear a Page From the AARP/Today Show Playbook

America has yet to witness the tremendous societal transformation retiring Boomers will have, as the oldest is a mere 64 and the youngest, 46. But we are beginning to see signs of the tsunami-sized impact this army of 77 million will have on the workplace, the economy, healthcare and even the arts and entertainment. AARP has just formed a timely, unbelievably beneficial partnership with NBC's "Today Show." Beginning tomorrow, March 9, the No. 1 morning news program that reaches 5.9 million viewers a day, is bringing back former Emmy Award-winning host Jane Pauley to produce and report a monthly segment called, "Your Life Calling."

Executive Moves

Executive Moves

Citi Names Sawhney Global Head of Funds, Hancock Selects Bieda to Direct Institutional Sales, Yepes Heads N.A. Sales For Man Investments, and Tabb Group Adds Rowady As Senior Research Analyst.