Portfolio

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.

Advisors chasing alpha on behalf of their clients have a continuously growing menu of investment options to choose from thanks to the proliferation of alternative mutual funds.

Behold the typical mutual fund investor. This prime customer, according to the Investment Company Institute, has $80,000 in household income and $200,000 in financial assets. This customer typically had $120,000 invested in four mutual funds.

Merrill Edge provides investment products and services for the "mass affluent" customer, defined by Bank of America as people with $50,000-$250,000 in total household investable assets.

Alternative mutual funds, specifically managed futures funds, are becoming a hot commodity for advisors looking to add diversification and dampen volatility in their portfolios.

San Francisco-based Forward Management is looking to boost it sales and marketing efforts in anticipation of increasing advisor interest for alternative mutual funds.