NEWS SCAN
ICI Applauds Senate Confirmation of SEC Commissioners
ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens issued a congratulary statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed Kara M. Stein and Michael S. Piwowar as Commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"We congratulate Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar on their confirmations to serve as Commissioners as the SEC pursues its vital work of protecting investors, overseeing the capital markets, and promoting capital formation.
"Stein's experience as legal counsel and policy adviser to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and her background in financial policy issues make her well-prepared to be an SEC Commissioner. Piwowar's work as the chief economist for the Senate Banking Committee Republican staff will greatly benefit the Commission, particularly in light of the importance of economic analysis in SEC rulemaking."
Nuveen Closed-End Funds' Board Approves Fund Mergers
Nuveen Investments announced the Board of Trustees of the Nuveen New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund (NAN), Nuveen New York Performance Plus Municipal Fund, Inc. (NNP) and Nuveen New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 2 (NXK) approved a merger. The merger is subject to customary conditions, including shareholder approval at annual shareholder meetings in early 2014. The merger is intended to create a larger fund with lower operating expenses and increased trading volume on the exchange for its common shares.
FINRA Fines Oppenheimer $1.4 Million for AML Violations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Oppenheimer and Co. $1,425,000 for the sale of unregistered penny stock shares and for failure to provide an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program, which would detect and report suspicious penny stock transactions. Oppenheimer must also retain an independent consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the adequacy of Oppenheimer's penny stock and AML policies, systems and procedures. Oppenheimer agreed to the sanctions to resolve charges first brought against the firm in a FINRA complaint in May of this year.
"Broker-dealers are required by federal securities laws and FINRA rules to monitor customers' accounts so that those accounts are not used for illegal activities, such as money laundering and penny stock schemes that can cause considerable harm to investors. If Oppenheimer had an adequate AML and supervisory program in place, it would have made further inquiry into the penny stock sales that were the basis of this action," Brad Bennett, FINRA Executive Vice President and Head of the Department of Enforcement, said in a statement.
RESEARCH
Long-term Mutual Funds Inflows Up
Total estimated inflows to long-term mutual funds were $8.29 billion for the week ending Wednesday, July 24, 2013, as reported by the Investment Company Institute.
Domestic equity funds had estimated inflows of $2.72 billion, while estimated inflows to world equity funds were $1.44 billion.
Hybrid funds had estimated inflows of $2.05 billion for the week, compared to estimated inflows of $3.19 billion in the previous week.
Bond funds had estimated inflows of $2.07 billion, compared to estimated outflows of $3.48 billion during the previous week.
Morningstar Platforms: Investors Focused on Large-Cap Equities
Individual investors, advisors, and institutions continued to show interest in large-cap equity strategies in the first half of 2013, according to a list of the most-researched investments in Morningstar's platforms. The mid-year snapshot also finds individual investors seeking dividends, financial advisors exploring allocation funds and income investments, and institutions searching for opportunities internationally.
"Core equity and bond strategies largely remain the most-researched investments across our main product platforms, but changes to the number of searches in niche categories indicate that investors were switching gears in the first half of the year," said Paul Justice, director of fund research for Morningstar, in a statement.
PRODUCTS
First Trust's Fifth ETF Rolled Out
First Trust Advisors L.P. launched its new actively managed exchange-traded fund on Aug. 2.
The First Trust Morningstar Managed Futures Strategy Fund (FMF) is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide investors with positive returns as its investment objective. The First Trust investment team has the flexibility to manage the contract selection to seek to exceed the performance of the Morningstar Diversified Futures Index. The benchmark currently contains 34 different futures positions consisting of 19 commodities, nine equity indexes and six currencies.
Dreyfus Launches Research-Driven Liquid Alternatives Fund
The Dreyfus Corporation, a BNY Mellon company, announced today that it has rolled out the Dreyfus Research Long/Short Equity Fund (DLSCX), an actively managed mutual fund.
The fund is designed to seek capital appreciation by investing in various equity sectors globally, using long/short investment strategies in seeking to produce consistent, positive returns with low correlations with major equity markets over a complete market cycle (typically, a period of several years).
ARRIVALS
Private Advisor Group Appoints CMO
Private Advisor Group (PAG), the largest hybrid solution for LPL Financial and a leading provider of high touch independent broker-dealer support and compliance oversight to independent financial advisors, announced that Abby Salameh has joined as part of the Senior Executive Team. She will be responsible for managing the marketing and communication efforts, as well as the conferences and events, for PAG and their advisors.
"Abby's tremendous experience in the industry and her strong leadership skills will make a huge impact on the growth of Private Advisor Group," said John Hyland, Managing Director of PAG. "We are extremely excited to welcome her in the firm to lead the marketing team."
Nuveen Enhances Municipal Expertise with New SVP, PM
Nuveen Investments announced its Nuveen Asset Management affiliate has named Ron Perry to the position of Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager within the Separately Managed Accounts team.
Perry joins Nuveen after a three-decade career at Western Asset Management and its predecessor companies where he was part of the municipal bond group focusing on the SMA business.
Hatteras Hires Distribution President
Hatteras Funds named Michael J. Hutten President of Distribution.
Hutten will lead the distribution initiatives and will be responsible for managing sales, marketing and national accounts. He originally joined Hatteras in August 2006 as a Regional Director for the West.
"Mike's extensive experience, knowledge and commitment to our clients position him to help drive our business forward. He will be a key contributor to the firm's direction which will allow us to expand our services to advisors and investors," said David Perkins, Hatteras CEO in a statement.
6800 Capital Welcomes New Product Director
Alternative investment management firm, 6800 Capital, L.L.C., announced that Kathryn Klebacha has returned as Director of New Product and Strategy Development. In addition, she will also serve as a member of the firm's Investment Committee.
