Alternative investments

While investors piled $4.4 billion into U.S.-domiciled ETFs tracking emerging-markets this year, they pulled $244 million from similar funds in Europe.

Following a year of slowed deal activity, a PwC report addresses the added challenges managers face amid the developing economic, tax and regulatory agenda of the new administration.

Concern stems from a surge in money chasing strategies that slice and dice the market based on various stock traits, factors like cheapness or volatility.

Clients who make these prohibited transactions can face devastating penalties.

Activists could gain more clout as stock ownership is concentrated among fewer owners, with funds shifting to indexed strategies, the firm suggests.

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Leaders in domestic stock, international stock, fixed income, and allocation and alternatives funds are recognized for standout performance.

Leaders in domestic stock, international stock, fixed income, and allocation and alternatives funds are recognized for standout performance.

This massive outflow points to the use by institutional investors, which had in the past tended to gravitate toward similar products.

Firms like the Denver-based money manager that run actively managed strategies have been losing to competitors offering lower-cost mutual funds and ETFs.