Portfolio

Exchange-traded funds gathered record net inflows of $107 billion through the end of May 2013, which is 31% higher than the $82 billion in net flows at this time in 2012, according to data from ETGI.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to propose reforms for money market funds to make them less susceptible to runs, such as those that occurred in 2008 when Reserve Primary Fund "broke the buck" and investors pulled $300 billion from other prime money market funds.

Separately managed accounts and alternative funds are poised for growth and fund firms need to be on top of their social media game to participate in the growing mutual fund space, according to a new report by Curian Capital.

Although many in the industry have tipped active exchange-traded funds as the breakthrough product of 2013, this may be wishful thinking, according to a new study by Cerulli Associates.

Art Tambaro, president and CEO of Royal Alliance Associates, (left) one of four independent broker-dealers owned by AIG’s Advisor Group, will retire at the end of the year. He will be replaced by Dmitry Goldin, a member of Royal’s senior leadership team for the last decade.

New planners should be aware of these commonly cited irks by firm owners and take the necessary steps to avoid them.

Global exchange-traded product flows reached $26.5 billion in May, the second strongest month this year, according to BlackRock’s latest ETP Landscape Monthly Snapshot.

In an environment of transparency and volatile capital markets, you would think exchange-traded fund vehicles would hold more of a percentage in the $3.6 trillion retirement plan marketplace.

“There’s a huge shift this year from last year in overall optimism from the advisors,” says Mark Schoenbeck, senior vice president of marketing for Curian Capital, the asset management firm that conducted the 2013 Curian Capital Survey. “It was a pretty big swing.”

Mutual funds firms are no longer novices at harnessing the marketing potential of Facebook and Twitter, and have, at least incrementally, been learning to successfully reach investors through social media channels.