The Markets October 26, 2007

September Mutual Fund Flows Increase Sharply Over August

Stock and bond funds posted net inflows of $37.9 billion in September 2007- a sharp increase from the $1.76 billion inflow posted in August, according to data from the Financial Research Corporation (FRC).
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By Morningstar category, Large Blend funds topped the list, posting net inflows of $6.5 billion for the month, followed by Intermediate-Term Bond funds with a $5.5 billion net inflow and Large Growth funds with a $5 billion net inflow.

International/Global funds led the way with net inflows of $20.5 billion, while Domestic Equity funds posted a $11.2 billion net intake, FRC data showed. Corporate funds placed a distant third with a net inflow of $4.7 billion.

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Barclays Global Investors was the best selling fund group in September, winning a net $9.5 billion in new assets. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) followed with a net inflow of $6.8 billion. American Funds ($5.1 billion), Vanguard Group ($4.2 billion), and Fidelity Distributors ($2.3 billion) rounded out the top five.

SSgA’s SPDR Trust fund topped the list of best selling funds taking in a net $5.4 billion, while the Dodge & Cox International Stock fund took in $2.6 billion in net inflows and Barclays iShares Russell 2000 Index fund post net inflows of $2.4 billion.

The FRC data can be found at www.frcnet.com.

Deals & People October 26, 2007

Prudential Joins With Wharton to Offer Retirement Risk Education for Financial Professionals

Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business for Prudential Financial, Inc., has partnered with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School to launch an executive education program that will provide financial professionals with extensive training in retirement income strategies.
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This new program is part of an effort to further distinguish its Masters Council program, which is the top-ranking tier of financial professionals selling Prudential Annuities products and services. Prudential Annuities is offering select financial professionals the opportunity to attend A New Model for Understanding Retirement Risk, a two and a half day program.The Wharton executive education program builds on the business model created by Prudential Annuities to help address some of the risks of investing inside The Retirement Red Zone – Prudential’s term for the critical five years before and the five years after retirement, a press announcement explained.

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The course will review the conventional wisdom around managing three types of retirement risk – Sequence Risk, Longevity Risk and Behavioral Risk – and will explore new perspectives that take into account the changing landscape, particularly in regards to annuity guarantees. The Wharton Executive Program will train 75 participants during each of two consecutively scheduled two and a half day sessions from October 21 through October 23 and October 24 through October 26.

Admission to the Wharton program was determined on a first-come, first-served basis among participants required to complete a two-hour online prerequisite program created and administered by Prudential Annuities. Program attendance is free for participants.

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