Homeowners should be happy to know that President Obamas mortgage refinancing stimulus plan is very easy to qualify for, regardless of your finances. With over $75 billion in funding, nearly any homeowner can easily find a mortgage refinance option that will save them money, prevent their home from being lost, or both. Here is how this amazing stimulus plan works, and how homeowners can easily take advantage of it.

Corporate-dividend payouts have fallen over the past few years, but the bottom is now in sight, according to Job Curtis, manager of the $570 million Henderson Global Equity Income Fund (HFQAX). “I think we’re through the worst of it,” he said. “Overall, any company that was going to cut dividends has done so by now.” With that in mind, Mr. Curtis said that even an “anemic recovery” will provide a good environment for high-yielding equities. “We’ve been though a massive storm, and right now, you have to be quite focused on cash-generative industries,” he said. The fund is managed out of the London headquarters of Henderson Investment Management Ltd., one of the United Kingdom’s largest money management firms. In particular, Mr. Curtis prefers pharmaceutical companies, despite the challenges that…

The key tonic to the past 10 years was a more diversified, less equity-centric approach. A risk premium over government bonds isn’t restricted to equities; plenty of assets offer premiums in line with stocks and occasionally higher. In the last issue we used the 16-asset class portfolio to illustrate the benefits of diversifying across a wider spectrum of asset classes. For the decade 2000–2009, this more-diversified approach achieved an annualized return of 6.8%, a 450 bps premium over 60/40. Abandon cap weight for stocks and the return jumps to 8.5%, nearly matching most investors’ targeted returns. Looking forward, the outlook is not as “attractive” as it was in 2000. Today, yields on most of these diversifying assets are well off the rich premium levels at the turn of the century. Back then, NASDAQ-induced neglect led to a whole spectrum of alternative asset classes, favorably priced for attractive…

Allianz Global Investor Solutions is planning to lower the fees on its target date and target risk funds in the next few months, according to a firm executive. The fees for Allianz Global’s six target date funds and two target risk funds range from 109 to 88 basis points, and the company would like to bring those costs down by 15 basis points, said Stephen Sexauer, chief investment officer at Allianz Global Investors Solutions. As the market for target date funds has become more crowded, there is no doubt that the fees of these offerings will decline, Mr. Sexauer said. “The costs currently are an inefficiency of the structure, not an inefficiency of intent,” he said. Specifically, Allianz is discussing creating an institutional trust within its funds that could buy and sell shares of stocks, bonds and other securities, rather than having mutual funds as the underlying investments…

Legg Mason Inc. yesterday filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking permission to offer actively managed exchange-traded funds. A number of firms have recently filed such applications — including rival T. Rowe Price Inc. — but few actively managed ETFs currently exist. “I think everyone views the active ETF space as relative new, and that it still has a lot of opportunities,” said Mary Athridge, a spokeswoman for Legg Mason. “We hope to be one of the first wave.” The filing provides few details about the proposed ETFs, but does suggest that the funds will provide full transparency, as do other actively managed ETFs on the market. Transparency has always been a sticking point in the development of actively managed ETFs. Many industry watchers continue to argue that few managers will agree to full transparency because they don’t…

Are you considering filing bankruptcy? A mountain of credit card bills and looming monthly payments are stressful, but there are easier ways out. And, unlike bankruptcy, a consolidation loan will not ruin your credit for seven years or more. The process of consolidating is much simpler than filing bankruptcy and you can definitely complete the process quickly if you find the right people to help you. Hector Milla Editor of the “Credit Card Debt Counseling” website — http://www.CreditCardDebtCounseling.biz — pointed out;