Alternative investments

The world of communications in the mutual fund industry is rife with buzzwords and phrases. They come in and out of favor as funds and fund managers seek to gain competitive advantage by repositioning an asset class or investment strategy as "the next big thing."

Sure, investors still feel nervous, companies are hesitating to spend cash, and all attention is on fixed income and bond funds. But Neil Hennessy of Hennessy Funds insists equity mutual funds are the way to go.

Compass EMP Funds announced today that it has increased its fund lineup more than fivefold with the launch of 13 new mutual funds.

Direxion has merged its websites for Direxion Funds and Direxion Shares to give its advisors and investors a one-stop online shopping destination.

Across the asset class of emerging market debt, upgrades are far outpacing downgrades. As a result, more than 50% of emerging market fixed income investments have become investment grade, says Luz Padilla, senior portfolio manager of the emerging markets fixed income strategy at DoubleLine Capital in Los Angeles.

Nationwide Funds Group has merged the UBS High Yield Fund and UBS Global Equity Fund into the Nationwide High Yield Bond Fund and the Nationwide Global Equity Fund, giving Nationwide some $183 million in new assets

First Trust Advisors has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an active exchange-traded fund that will bet on the commodity futures market.

Part of the steady uptick in investment in emerging market fixed income is due to the appearance of new players from the emerging markets themselves.

There are a host of reasons why emerging market debt has been looking sweeter to investors.

Mainstay Investments has augmented its alternatives offerings with two hedge fund-of-funds.

With over 25,000 open-ended mutual funds available for sale in the United States, it is more difficult than ever to stand out from the crowd.

New research by the Center for Applied Research, a think tank affiliate of State Street Corporation, is bound to leave a few advisors scratching their heads.

Whitebox Advisors today unveiled its second alternative mutual fund to the retail market.

One commodity fund has received the dreaded Negative rating from Morningstar.

Liberty Street Advisors has launched the Capital Innovations Global Agri, Timber and Infrastructure Fund (INNAX, INNCX, INNNX), to bet on global stocks in agribusiness, timber and infrastructure.

Credit Suisse Group AG and Qatar Holding LLC, a unit of the Persian Gulf emirate’s sovereign- wealth fund, agreed to form asset manager Aventicum Capital Management to boost investments in emerging markets.

AQR Capital Management has added two mutual funds, AQR Risk Parity II MV Fund (Class I/QRMIX) and AQR Risk Parity II HV Fund (Class I/QRHIX), to be distributed through advisors only.

Hedge funds cut bullish wagers on commodities by the most since June as prices retreated to a three-month low on mounting concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen and U.S. growth slow.

ProShares is readying a merger arbitrage exchange-traded fund to launch sometime in January, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

As America grows older, advisors shift practices from accumulating wealth to generating income.