Portfolio

State Street Global Advisors has launched a global natural resources exchange-traded fund.

The U.S. economy is on an expansionary, albeit sluggish, path—not toward a double-dip recession, says BNY Mellon Chief Economist Richard B. Hoey. In the near term, however, hold onto your hats: The “most pronounced weakness in the U.S. economy” will become apparent in the second and third quarters of this year, he says.

Altegris Advisors has launched the Altegris Managed Futures Strategy Fund, an actively managed mutual fund aimed at both retail and professional investors. In launching the fund, the alternative investments manager noted that in the past decade, U.S. stocks declined 17%, but managed futures gained 122%.

Government workers are not sitting pretty on top of fat future pensions. More realize that their pensions could be under pressure in the future, and that their government employers are shifting more of their retirement burden onto workers. The smart government and municipal employees—especially those who are slated to only receive a partial pension and are being guided to save in a 457 or other defined contribution plan—are looking to save more.

Advisors are turning to annuities, using tactical asset allocation and continuing to move to fee-based business models, as they cope with the effects that the sluggish economic climate is having on their practices, according to findings from the latest Russell’s Financial Professional Outlook, released last week.

The SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF began trading on the NYSE Arca on Tuesday.

The service leverages Citi’s existing services for traditional mutual funds and their investment advisors.

Broker dealer BTIG Ltd. has expanded its global fixed-income group to include a London-based team focused on emerging markets, it announced Monday.

Morgan Stanley announced Monday it has named Paul Price head of the firm’s investment management international sales.

Citi’s Global Transaction Services unit has launched a suite of regulatory administration and compliance support services for hedge funds, private equity funds and their SEC-registered investment advisors. The service leverages Citi’s existing services for traditional mutual funds and their investment advisors.