Portfolio

Pentegra Retirement Services has hired Pete Swisher to serve as senior vice president for national sales.

Financial services firms, including mutual fund managers, admitted that they invited negative public perception by their actions, or inactions, according to the 2012 Makovsky Wall Street Reputation Study.

Want to see your revenue leap within 30 days? Focus on the clients who produce most of your revenue. In our upcoming issue of BIC, you can read consultant Todd Colbeck’s advice on how to segment your book of business to do just that. Meanwhile, here is a high-level overview.

iShares has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a frontier market exchange-traded fund.

Aston Asset Management, LP has promoted Mark Kim to managing director, Southeast Region where he will be responsible for external sales. Kim has been with Aston for seven years.

John Hancock Financial Services has launched a television campaign, titled “You Are Not Alone,” that Hancock’s chief marketing officer, David Longfritz, says taps into the frustrations, as well as the resilience, of American investors now.

Dallas, Texas-based Pyxis Capital, L.P. has launched the Pyxis Natural Resources Fund to invest all of its assets in the Ascendant Natural Resources Master Fund, which is managed by Ascendant Advisors, LLC.

J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services said that it has been appointed by Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC to provide custody and exchange-traded fund transfer agency services to its newly launched Yorkville High Income master limited partnerships ETF.

Horizon Investments has launched a no-load actively-managed mutual fund that invests in exchange-traded funds.

Many banks were aggressive buyers of municipal bonds in 2011, seeing value in high relative tax-exempt yields and stepping in to make direct purchases of debt.