"'Stable' Funds in Your 401(k) May Not Be" says The Wall Street Journal. The paper writes, "Investors are pouring billions into stable-value funds -- just as these popular retirement-plan investments are looking less stable than usual.... [S]table-value funds are getting rattled by some of the same forces that have upended the broader financial system.... In rare cases, investors can lose money in a stable-value fund." WSJ adds, "All this comes as even more investors are turning to stable-value funds for protection.... Stable-value funds held about $520 billion at the end of last year, up 25% from the end of 2007, according to the Stable Value Investment Association, which represents fund managers and retirement plans that offer the products. The funds generally receive little scrutiny. But with extreme stress in fixed-income markets and growing questions about the financial stability of firms providing wrap contracts, many employers are now asking questions about their stable-value funds, investment advisers say."
