Alternative investments

La Jolla, Calif.-based Altegris, an alternative mutual fund shop, has hired Amy Bennett as its new director, sales strategy and channel marketing, reporting to Andrea Trachtenberg, chief marketing officer.

Thanks to stagnant interest rates and lingering worries over the Eurozone and other developed markets, the exchange traded fund market in February grew 3.9%, or more than $44 billion assets, over the previous month, according to a snapshot report released by State Street Global Advisors.

J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services has hired Stephanie Miller as Global Head of the Alternative Investment Services business.

It's official: BlackRock, Inc. today says it has completed its acquisition of the Toronto-based Claymore Investments, Inc.

361 Capital, a provider of alternative investment mutual funds, separate accounts, and limited partnerships to institutions, financial intermediaries, and high-net-worth investors, has entered into a strategic partnership with Lighthouse Partners, a fund-of-hedge-funds and managed account investment adviser.

The coming year is shaping up to be a fresh start for alternative mutual fund shop Pyxis Capital.

Jackson National Life Insurance Company, a purveyor of variable annuities, is looking to offer its advisors and their retail clients access to alternative investments.

A new investment management shop has opened in Palm Beach, Fla., dubbed Crest Investment Partners LLC.

Nasdaq OMX and risk analytics developer Axioma have launched a family of indexes that will give investors exposure to commodity spot prices, through the use of stocks.

A co-founder of BlackRock said Friday that money market mutual funds would survive, if their asset values would allowed to float from their a stable $1 net asset value per share.

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, the investment advisor to Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, has rolled out a fund that will invest in a wide range of alternative investments.

The much-awaited opening of trading in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Total Return ETF arrived this morning. By noon, 345,800 shares had been traded. Missing from the ringing of the bell at the New York Stock Exchange: the fund’s manager, Bill Gross.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management yesterday unveiled two funds today: a managed futures fund and a short duration income fund. These launches follow the launch of a rising dividend growth fund on Monday.

Alternative mutual fund shop Direxion has hired Greg Blue to serve as senior regional sales director, focusing on the Florida market.

Hungry for healthier returns, more mutual funds are investing in commodities, commodity futures, swaps and options.

Dennis Sugino, president and co-founder Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based Cliffwater LLC, is retiring, as part of changes in the ownership structure of the alternative investment consulting firm.

Bond behemoth PIMCO is making a push into the equities space with the hire of Geoffrey Johnson as an executive vice president and global equity portfolio manager. He will begin with the firm in April and will be based in the Newport Beach office.

U.S. securities regulators have widened their inquiry into the trillion-dollar market for exchange-traded funds, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A new study by is looking to answer the age-old question: Do active investment managers (e.g., mutual funds and hedge funds) add value above and beyond simply investing in an index?

Key Additions at Northern Trust Alternatives; MMI Appoints Lensing and Ledbury as VPs; Stephenson and Klaas Join Heartland Marketing; Eze Castle Promotes Holden to CFO