Wealth management

From Treasuries to German bunds, and corporate bonds to mortgage securities, the world's fixed-income market is poised for its best year since 2002 as slow growth, tame inflation and record low interest rates create an almost perfect environment for debt investors.

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Investors were mostly bullish before the midterm elections, according to a quarterly survey by the online broker TradeKing.

The combined assets of the nation's mutual funds grew $486.2 billion in September, or 4.5%, to $11.267 trillion, as investors continued to add to long-term bond funds and pull money out of stock and money market portfolios, the Investment Company Institute has reported.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has developed a "chartered special needs consultant" designation.

For defined contribution plans to work, large U.S. retirement plan sponsors said they believe they should be mandatory, and include auto enrollment, savings escalation and employer contributions, according to a survey by Northern Trust.

With close to $2.16 billion of assets, the fixed-income fund can be managed in a nimble style — increasing and decreasing positions without moving the market to its detriment.

Chilton Investment Co. has started a trust unit to work with ultrawealthy individuals.

Janus Capital Group Inc. said Monday that it has launched three separately managed account investment strategies for U.S. institutional investors.

Financial Planning magazine recently sat down with Tom Bradley, the president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, to sort out the industry. Bradley, who is always brimming with optimism and energy, said he believes financial planning's solution culture is changing financial services for everyone, forcing all financial advisers to think about much more than the next sale.

Though lacking the clout of big brokerages, independent firms boast an advantage with clients: no conflicts of interest.

A former broker for Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for receiving kickbacks in a stock-loan scheme.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is asking a bankruptcy court to authorize the payment of $10 million in insurance proceeds to its former chairman and chief executive, Richard S. Fuld Jr., so he can settle a pair of lawsuits.

Cash management is one of the strongest growth areas for Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch unit, Sallie Krawcheck, president of global wealth and investment management at B of A, said Thursday.

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Banks' combined sales of fixed and variable annuities in August regained ground lost in July, reaching $2.9 billion, level with June's volume.

Retail investors are on the hunt for fixed-income products with decent yields, but the bond market for individual investors is often opaque, making it hard for financial advisers to get a keen sense of what these investors are thinking.

To help registered independent advisers develop additional business with ultrawealthy clients, Fidelity Investments has started a program that will allow them to use the Boston company's family office services.

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