Portfolio

Fixed-income money manager Cutwater Asset Management has entered into a strategic partnership with Tandem Global Partners, the New York firm announced today.

But there were also fewer hedge-fund launches, as investors continued to shun startups and smaller firms in favor of large, established players.

Despite the new rules that the SEC imposed on money market funds in January – or perhaps because of them – managers are challenged to find an adequate supply of investments. The scarcity of debt with a maturity of less than seven days, combined with low yields, is pushing money market fund managers into areas of the fixed income and cash management markets they previously would not seek out, The Wall Street Journal reports this morning.

Low rates on fixed annuities force advisors to branch out into life insurance sales, hitting a home run.

Establishing a presence in China is slow going, but Northern Trust Corp., which recently won approval for a Beijing branch office, believes the payoff will be worth the wait.

Despite declining trading activity industrywide, Charles Schwab Corp. announced Wednesday that it expects third-quarter results will be in line with the previous quarter.

Institutional broker dealer MF Global Holdings has hired Greg Shonhorn for its fixed- income group in New York effective Sept. 7.

The Swiss financial services company will pay $425 million for a minority stake in the New York hedge fund manager.

The fixed-income trend is leading the bumper inflows for bond-heavy fund families, while investors continue to punish American Funds for not being “bear-proof.”

Fixed-income funds held their siren-like draw for investors, contributing largely to long-term mutual funds’ $16.8 billion in inflows in August, according to a Morningstar analysis.