The Markets April 27, 2007

American Funds is Best-selling Fund Group in March

American Funds edged out the Vanguard Group as the best-selling fund group in March with $7.2 billion, while Vanguard ended the month with $6.5 billion.
Reported by
State Street Global Advisors followed at $5.7 billion, Franklin Templeton at $2.3 billion, and Dodge & Cox rounded out the top five, with $2.2 billion, according to data from the Financial Research Corporation (FRC).
For the month, stock and bond mutual funds experienced net inflows of $36.4 billion. Domestic Equity funds led the way with net inflows of $13.6 billion, followed by Corporate Funds with a net intake of $11.5 billion, FRC said. International/Global funds had a $9.1 billion net intake.
By Morningstar category, Large Blend funds took in $6.5 billion in March, followed by Intermediate Term Bond funds with $5.5 billion, Moderate Allocation with $3.2 billion and Foreign Large Value at $2.5 billion.
Vanguard Total Stock Index collected nearly $2 billion to lead the fund sales charts. SPDR Trust followed at $1.8 billion, SSgA S&P 500 Index at $1.68 billion, and American Capital Income Builder at $1.61 billion.
FRC data can be found at www.frcnet.com.
Data & Research April 25, 2007

“Down″ Down Under?

Australia has a private savings system that, by all accounts, is working to the benefit of savers and financial advisers alike – but it doesn’t seem to be making them happy.
Reported by
In fact, a new survey by Beyond Blue and Beaton Consulting found that insurance brokers and accountants are among the most depressed workers in Australia.
Moreover, nearly 5% of people working at actuarial firms, which have the seventh highest proportion of workers suffering from depression, are using drugs and alcohol to try to combat symptoms.
But the profession with the largest percentage of depressed workers was – lawyers. And nearly a third are using alcohol and drugs to deal with the problem.
Overall, the study said that 16% of professionals exhibit moderate or severe forms of the depressive behavior, a rate that’s significantly higher than that of the general population. The study claims that depressed employees cost businesses an average of AUS$10,000 a year each. It also claims that younger professionals have higher rates of depressive symptoms than older professionals.
More than 17,000 people responded to the survey with more than 7500 of respondents working in the ten professions identified as being worst for depression. And here they are, in order:
1. Law
2. Patent Attorney
3. Insurance underwriting
4. Accounting
5. IT services
6. Architectural
7. Actuarial Firm
8. Engineering
9. Consulting
10. Insurance brokering
So, how’re YOU feeling?

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