Alternative investments

BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink, who heads the world’s largest asset manager, said his firm needs to capture a larger share of the deposits that are going into U.S. equity exchange-traded funds.

On July 18, 2012, Want exposure to managed futures? Think multi-manager funds, according to a new white paper penned by William Marr and Alexander Rudin, principals of Ramius Trading Strategies.

On July 16, 2012, Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC plans to list the PowerShares DWA SmallCap Technical Leaders Portfolio on July 19, 2012 on the NYSE Arca.

On a three to two vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the nation's exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with developing and maintaining a consolidated and auditable trail of every order, cancellation, modification and executed trade on 13 national stock exchanges, 10 options markets and through more than 200 broker-dealers.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Morningstar decided to put its stamp of approval, and disapproval, on alternative mutual funds. And by all measures, it should.

Ernst & Young LLP has appointed Julie Canty and Carlos A. Schmidt as partners in the firm’s Asset Management Tax practice.

Hatteras Funds this week launched a new variable trust fund, the Hatteras Alpha Hedged Strategies Variable Fund, which made its debut on the flat-fee variable annuity platform of Jefferson National last month and will bet on “multiple” hedge fund managers.

Financial advisors plan to increase their use of alternative investments this year, according to Jackson National Life Insurance Co. One big challenge: they need to understand the asset class better.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the JPMorgan Commodities Strategy Fund.

Advisors are looking to adopt alternative investments in their portfolios but are leaning on guided strategies from fund firms to do so, according to a new survey by Jackson National Life Insurance Company.

Alternative mutual fund shop Hatteras Funds has launched a new variable trust fund, the Hatteras Alpha Hedged Strategies Variable Fund, which will bet on “multiple” hedge fund managers.

Financial services-focused private equity shop Lightyear Capital LLC has appointed Jerry W. Miller, former president and chief executive officer of Van Kampen Investments, as a senior advisor on behalf of its affiliated funds.

On July 6, 2012, IndexIQ plans to close the IQ South Korea Small Cap ETF (NYSE Arca: SKOR).

On July 6, 2012, BlackRock, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Swiss Re Private Equity Partners AG (SRPEP), which is the European private equity and infrastructure fund of funds franchise of Swiss Re.

When it comes to sector exchange-traded funds, know what you're buying.

In the span of 12 months, the Active Bear Exchange-Traded Fund (HDGE) has become a wirehouse darling. The fund has multiplied its assets eight-fold from $40 million in assets in January 2011 to $319 million at press time.

PIMCO is ramping up its alternative investment team with a trio of new hires from big-name hedge funds.

PIMCO is ramping up its alternative investment team with a trio of new hires from big-name hedge funds.

Wealth managers are making alternative investments more of a priority to meet the expectations of their clients and help grow total assets under management.

On June 26, 2012, State Street Global Advisors today released its mid-year exchange-trade fund report, dubbed 2012 ETF & Investment Outlook: Sinking or Swimming?