The Managed Funds Association, the Washington-based organization that represents the hedge fund industry, announced its support for Mary Schapiro as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Gary Gensler, who will head-up the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Mutual fund assets will remain in decline unless regulations put them on equal footing with other investment vehicles, such as ETFs, according to a study released this week by Celent, a Boston-based research and consulting firm.
Net outflows were down 63% across the mutual fund industry in November, but most money managers still bled billions in assets, according to research released last week by Morningstar Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Andrew Wessel has raised earnings estimates and price targets on several mortgage real estate investment trusts in the wake of the Fed’s latest rate cut.
Axa SA of Paris, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Springfield and Swiss Reinsurance Co., as well as other all-star companies, have also been exposed to Mr. Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
Real estate valuations are expected to fall next year, with the low point in the cycle expected in 2010, according to LaSalle Investment Management’s Investment Strategy Annual, a comprehensive survey of global real estate markets.
A select group of mutual funds that can invest beyond stocks, bonds and cash are being heralded as the next great innovation, but some industry observers question whether the funds are merely repackaging an existing concept.
The Ryland Group has become the latest home builder to slash its dividend, chopping its quarterly dividend by 75% to 3 cents a share, from 12 cents.
Morgan Stanley downgraded ING Groep NV, Standard Life PLC and Aegon NV to “underweight” from “equal weight,” expecting more challenges ahead for the insurers, Reuters reported.
A lower appetite for risk among investors has added up to some lousy returns for hedge funds concentrated in emerging markets, according to the latest data from HFR Group LLC in Chicago.
The Reserve Management Co. Inc. of New York has announced that it has begun distributions for 12 of its money market mutual funds and gave a distribution schedule for a host of others.
Money market mutual funds that invest in Treasuries could cost investors money if the Federal Reserve Bank cuts interest rates further, according to Peter Crane, president of the Westborough, Mass.-based research firm Crane Data LLC.
The Allstate Corp. of Northbrook, Ill., has announced the departure of James E. Hohmann, president and chief executive of Allstate Financial LLC, who is leaving on Jan. 5.
Pending sales of existing homes and median home prices fell in October, although the declines were smaller than anticipated — and there were even signs of improvement in certain markets.
MetLife Inc. today said that its fourth-quarter profits will be up from the 2007 period and that it will reap the benefits of investment gains.
The latest performance data from the hedge fund industry shows that its indexes continue to decline at a slower pace than that of the stock market, but are still widely underperforming bonds.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners of Kansas City, Mo., yesterday adopted a new proposal to modernize state-based regulation of reinsurance.
The next Congress will scrutinize a Department of Labor proposal that permits advisers affiliated with an in-house money management unit to recommend whatever products they want, including mutual funds with high management fees, to 401(k) participants.
A popular argument for using exchange traded funds is that investors receive more bang for their buck because ETFs are generally cheaper than mutual funds. In some cases, however, the bang is being muted because of the way ETF returns are reported.
Money managers said they have laid off or plan to lay off nearly 3,600 staff members as a result of financial market swoons.
