BOSTON (Reuters) – Fidelity Investments has lost hundreds of corporate customers in its defined-contribution retirement plan business over the past year, a challenge for the giant mutual fund company in a critical segment of the industry.

Fidelity’s Workplace Investing division provided services to about 17,100 corporate defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s as of March 31, down from 17,200 at the end of 2009 and 17,500 at June 30, 2009, according to confidential debt offering documents obtained by Reuters.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Fidelity Investments has lost hundreds of corporate customers in its defined-contribution retirement plan business over the past year, a challenge for the giant mutual fund firm in a critical segment of the industry.

Fidelity’s Workplace Investing division provided services to about 17,100 corporate defined-contribution plans as of March 31, down from 17,200 at the end of 2009 and 17,500 at June 30, 2009, according to confidential debt offering documents obtained by Reuters.

BOSTON (Reuters) – As early word of BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout began spreading, investors panicked. After closing above $60 before the April 20 disaster, the energy giant’s shares plunged almost 20 percent in New York, to below $50, in just two weeks.

It is not hard to understand why. Even then, the out-of-control oil spill in the midst of rich fishing grounds and nearby resort beaches raised the specter of horrific damages and untold potential liabilities.

BOSTON, May 20 (Reuters) – Participants in the $800 billion
U.S. exchange-traded fund industry said on Thursday they would
welcome a move to extend circuit breakers to their market as
soon as possible.

The ETF market was hit harder than ordinary stocks by the
May 6 “flash crash” but so far has been left out of potential
market fixes.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Investigators probing the stock market’s “flash-crash” earlier this month have put the spotlight on a Kansas mutual fund manager who operates more like George Soros than Peter Lynch.

Michael Avery, who has run the $22 billion Ivy Asset Strategy fund and the $3.3 billion W&R Advisers Asset Strategy Fund since 1997, commonly uses stock index futures to hedge the equity side of his portfolios.

BOSTON (Reuters) – More than two-thirds of the securities hammered in Thursday’s big selloff were exchange-traded funds, including some considered among the safest, shaking confidence in using ETFs for hedging risks.

The New York Stock Exchange released on Friday a list of 173 securities that were affected by the sell-off, including 111 ETFs, according to the IndexUniverse website. The Nasdaq released its own list of 281 securities, including 193 ETFs.

BOSTON (Reuters) – More than two-thirds of the securities that suffered astonishingly rapid and severe price declines on Thursday were exchange-traded funds, raising questions for investors who rely on ETFs for hedging and risk reduction strategies.

The New York Stock Exchange on Friday released a list of 173 securities, including 111 ETFs, that were affected by the sell-off and would have many trades between 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT (1840 GMT and 1900 GMT) canceled, according to a calculation by the website IndexUniverse. The Nasdaq released its own list of 281 securities including 193 ETFs.

BOSTON, May 7 (Reuters) – More than two-thirds of the
securities that suffered astonishingly rapid and severe price
declines on Thursday were exchange-traded funds, raising
questions for investors who rely on ETFs for hedging and risk
reduction strategies.

The New York Stock Exchange on Friday released a list of
173 securities, including 111 ETFs, that were affected by the
sell-off and would have many trades between 2:40 p.m. and 3:00
p.m. (1840 and 1900 GMT) canceled, according to a calculation
by the website IndexUniverse. The Nasdaq released its own list
of 281 securities including 193 ETFs.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Futures trader John Henry, who parlayed a knack for blackjack into an investing system to make billions of dollars, says he is sticking with his trend-following strategy even though it has not worked well lately.

“Everything in life has trends,” Henry, who is also principal owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, said on Monday during a talk at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “People’s expectations trend and you can take advantage of that.”

BOSTON, May 3 (Reuters) – Futures trader John Henry, who
parlayed a knack for Black Jack into an investing system to
make billions of dollars, says he is sticking with his
trend-following strategy even though it has not worked well
lately.

“Everything in life has trends,” Henry, who is also
principal owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, said on
Monday during a talk at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
“People’s expectations trend and you can take advantage of
that.”