The young-vs-old
From The Wall Street Journal
Data provided by fund-tracker Morningstar Inc. for a study on fund managers found that among fund managers who under performed the market by 15% in any given year, those under 45 years old had a 37% chance of losing their job while those 45 and over faced just a 17% risk. Matching or outperforming the market's return, by comparison, didn't bring measurably better job security for either group. Young managers know this and act on it, the study found, by setting-up their portfolios to look like other funds of similar type. The economists studied portfolio composition and performance of 453 fund managers who were in charge of growth or growth-and-income funds starting in 1992, 1993 and 1994, as well as their subsequent career paths.

Dreyfus closes most of its storefront centers
From The Boston Herald
Dreyfus Corp. is planning to close most of its storefront investor centers in the coming months to focus on mutual fund sales through brokers. The $126 billion mutual fund unit of Mellon Bank Corp. confirmed that four walk-in centers were closed in April leaving only 19 remaining. The move marks a shift for New York-based Dreyfus, which reaped much of its growth in the '70s and '80s from direct sales of mutual funds. The firm expanded its network of investor centers only a few years ago, as part of a turnaround when Mellon bought the fund group.

U.S. funds have a hard July while Japanese funds show hope
From Investor's Business Daily
Concerns over rising interest rates sent the stock market into a summer swoon, resulting in a loss of almost 2.5% for the average U.S. stock fund this past month, according to Lipper Inc., citing data through July 29. Gains were hard to come by last month. Micro-cap funds were the only type of diversified U.S. stock fund to post a gain in July, rising 1%. All other types of domestic equity funds fell anywhere from 2.5% to 3%. The big winners last month were funds that invest in Japan and other Asian stock markets. Signs of an economic turnaround in Tokyo helped Japan funds climb 6.3%. Pacific region funds gained 2.2%.

E*Trade taking a crack at online investment advice
From The Wall Street Journal
Online brokers are looking to get into the online investment advice game. The paper reports that E*Trade is looking at its alternatives in this area. Specifically mentioned as a possible partners is Direct Advice. Both firms have taken capital infusions from Japan's Softbank. Also mentioned as being in the market for online advice is National Discount Brokers. If hired for this purpose, firms such as Financial Engines would be moving beyond their original market in 401(k) plans. The paper raises the interesting point that the National Association of Securities Dealers suitability rules may come into play with these products. The problem: no one yet knows if they would apply to the advisor or the inline broker.  

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