Portfolio

Mutual funds may soon report not just to the Securities and Exchange Commission but the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well, in some circumstances.

The liquidity of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, as well as their operating costs, could be collateral damage, depending on how the Volcker Rule precluding proprietary trading by banks gets implemented, Investment Company Institute general counsel Karrie McMillan will argue Monday at the 2012 ICI Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference in Phoenix.

State Street Global Advisors began trading the SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term High Yield Bond ETF on the NYSE Arca. The new SPDR ETF offers investors access to high yield corporate bonds with short durations. Its annual expense ratio is 40 basis points.

The liquidity of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, as well as their operating costs, could be collateral damage, depending on how the Volcker Rule precluding proprietary trading by banks gets implemented, ICI general counsel Karrie McMillan will argue Monday at the 2012 ICI Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference in Phoenix.

Securities and Exchange Commission proposals to require capital buffers and embargoes on withdrawals or to let the net asset value of money market funds float could destroy the gains made by reforms enacted in 2010 , ICI general counsel Karrie McMillan will proclaim Monday at the 2012 ICI Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference in Phoenix.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will introduce duplicative and inconsistent regulation if it persists in bringing mutual funds under its purview, ICI general counsel Karrie McMillan will assert Monday at the 2012 ICI Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference in Phoenix.

Fenimore Asset Management has promoted 20-year veteran Debra Perez to senior vice president, responsible for long-term strategic planning and growth of investment vehicles and services.

With interest rates at historic lows, figuring out fixed-income strategies for clients is no simple task. And never mind what can happen when inflation picks up.

Putnam Investments has named Scott C. Sipple as head of investment product management and development, responsible for overseeing the firm's equity, fixed income and global asset allocation product management and development teams.

On the heels of the launch of PIMCO's and Bill Gross' first active exchange-traded fund, BlackRock has thrown its hat into the active ETF space with a proposed offering of its own.