Money Management Executive Latest News

Money market funds saw $16.72 billion in inflows in the latest week, bringing total assets to $3.446 trillion, the Investment Company Institute said.

While most funds strictly adhere to their investment mandates, more are permitting their managers to move into cash and bonds as a defensive play. And the strategy proved to be extremely wise in last year’s steep declines.

Hedge funds rose 3.2% in September, slightly behind the S&P 500’s 3.6% gain but beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 2.3% gain, Hennessee Group said. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq advanced 5.6%.

A new report from Morningstar slams actively managed funds not only on performance but also on risk and style. The research firm found that only about 50% of funds have outperformed their benchmark indexes over the past three, five and 10 years and only 37% did so on a risk-, size- and style-adjusted basis.

Long-term mutual funds netted $4.94 billion in the week ended Sept. 30, marking the 29th straight week of inflows now nearing $305 billion, the Investment Company Institute said.

Putnam Investments has promoted two executives within its global distribution team, naming Joseph T. Phoenix and Catherine A. Saunders head of registered investment advisor business. Both have been with the company for more than 20 years. The two will continue to report to William T. Connolly, head of global distribution.

Just as many investors overreacted to the market on the way down, they need to keep a level head and not load up on too much stock in the current market rally, Vanguard is reminding investors in an online message from Chief Investment Officer Gus Sauter.

The mutual fund advertising rule that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority imposed in April 2007 that requires ads to contain fee information if they are also going to tout performance appears to be for naught.

Mutual funds and other institutional investor shave remained fundamentally committed to the same investment policies they were adopting prior to the credit crisis, The Conference Board said in its annual Institutional Investment Report.

Grail Advisors has registered two actively bond exchange-traded funds, the Grail McDonnell Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF and the Grail McDonnell Core Taxable Bond ETF.