Alternative investments

Exchange-traded funds will continue on a strong, albeit somewhat scaled back, growth track, expanding assets by an average of 19% a year over the next five years through 2014, according to Financial Research Corp. Over the last five years, the annual growth rate has been 23%.

Altegris Advisors has launched the Altegris Managed Futures Strategy Fund, an actively managed mutual fund aimed at both retail and professional investors. In launching the fund, the alternative investments manager noted that in the past decade, U.S. stocks declined 17%, but managed futures gained 122%.

Citi’s Global Transaction Services unit has launched a suite of regulatory administration and compliance support services for hedge funds, private equity funds and their SEC-registered investment advisors. The service leverages Citi’s existing services for traditional mutual funds and their investment advisors.

Invesco PowerShares has contracted for exclusive rights to four Keefe Bruyette & Woods indexes to offer specialized exchange-traded funds in real estate, financial services and property and casualty insurance.

Mortgage-backed securities, especially those paying higher rates of interest than comparable Treasuries, are gaining an increased amount of attention from investors who have been sitting on cash.

Long-short strategies are outperforming—or at least underperforming less—than traditional equity plays, according to a white paper by Credit Suisse.

BNP Paribas has pushed to reorganize its corporate and investment banking business in the Americas by making some key staffing swaps within equities, derivatives and structured finance, the firm said yesterday.

WASHINGTON — Since the beginning of the year, Wall Street firms, trade associations, and municipal bond issuers have significantly stepped up their lobbying efforts to get lawmakers to extend the Build America Bonds program before it expires at the end of December.

Rockefeller Financial has named Reuben Jeffery III chief executive officer.

NEW YORK—State Street Global Markets Wednesday unveiled seven new indexes designed to help institutional investors map out hidden market opportunities.

NEW YORK-Even as the residential housing and mortgage markets remain fragile, with housing starts and sales faltering-many money managers believe commercial real estate is headed for a worldwide boom.

BlackRock is promoting its first U.S. gold mutual fund, the BlackRock World Gold Fund, aimed at both retail and institutional investors. The fund is managed by gold and natural resources specialists Evy Hambro and Catherine Row.

Even as Build America Bonds continue to transform municipal finance, one thing stays constant: hedging a portfolio of muni securities remains very difficult.

NEWARK, N.J.--American corporations and households are tidying up their debt to get their financial house in order.

An age-old standard, gold, was one of the most touted alternative investments at the Morningstar 2010 Investment Conference in Chicago last month.

It might seem strange to bring up reverse mortgages in a space dedicated to the lives of Baby Boomers.

Under the theory that lucrative investment opportunities like alternative energy will be more likely to spring from overseas markets, Fidelity Investments is positioning its 20-year-old environmental energy mutual fund right at the crossroads of those two sectors.

Annuities sales through banks maintained their modest recovery pace in April after hitting record lows at the beginning of the year.

TD Ameritrade and Vanguard Group have added the Thesis Flexible Fund, an alternative strategies fund, to their respective platforms. Grand Distribution Services of Milwaukee distributes the fund, managed by Thesis Fund Mgmt. of New York. The fund uses hedging strategies and is managed by the Thesis team with Stephen Roseman, Thesis Fund Mgmt. chief executive officer, as senior portfolio manager.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it effected an "emergency asset freeze" against a 'purported fund manager' based in the U.S. Virgin Islands.