Don't cry for me, Fund Industry
From The Boston Globe
No one in the fund industry seems particularly upset that Fidelity is not receiving the lion's share of the industry's net sales. That honor has gone to Janus of late, and Vanguard before that. But is the Boston Behemoth too big for its own good, without a discernible edge over the myriad of competitors out there? Doubtful, but the Globe raises some interesting points about Fidelity's settling to the middle of the pack instead of leading the way. It also ignores the fact that Fido does lead the pack when it comes to defined contribution plans, which now take up a full third of the industry's assets.

SRI funds now one in eight
From CBSMarketwatch.com
Socially conscious funds now account for about one in eight dollars in mutual funds. They have also had very solid performance compared to their benchmarks. Critics say that many of the top performers differ almost not at all from many other "closet" index funds, but that point aside, as long as they outperform the majority of funds in their peer groups and stay within their chosen universe of funds -- then they're simply better managed.

Fund gimmicks
From Morningstar
Aware that a name like Payden & Rygel European Growth and Income was about as boring as it could get, P&R nicknamed the fund "Euro Dogs," as the fund would be using an adapted Dogs of the Dow strategy for the European market. The fund was promoted via stuffed dog giveaways and yes, salespeople had a story to tell -- a fund has to stand out after all. But the Euro market treated the fund ruff-ly -- the Fund Spy has the details. 

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