NEWS SCAN
Fidelity Builds Out DCIO Unit
Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions, the Defined Contribution Investment Only unit of Fidelity Investments, is looking to grow its team of wholesalers.
The unit currently has a territory open for a regional wholesaler to cover Ohio, Michigan, western Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The wholesaler will focus on retirement on plan sizes up to $100 million in those territories.
Carlyle Officially Takes TCW Off SocGen's Hands
The Carlyle Group last week officially closed the book on its acquisition of The TCW Group, which retained some 40% of the firm on a fully diluted basis. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Equity for the investment came from two Carlyle investment funds and from TCW management.
JPMorgan to Cut Investment Bank Pay 3%, Asset Managers Gain
JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid investment bankers and traders about 3% less in 2012 as shaky economies in the U.S. and Europe put a damper on deals, said two people with knowledge of the firm's compensation.
Portfolio managers and other executives in asset management received an average 6% increase in salary and bonuses, according to two other people briefed on pay at New York-based JPMorgan.
Putnam Explores 'New Ways of Thinking'
Putnam Investments is launching a marketing campaign aimed at advisor and investors, dubbed, "New Ways of Thinking," which will officially begin on Monday, February 11, through a series of print, direct marketing, and online advertising.
The campaign will focus on the need for greater versatility and active risk management in underlying portfolios, according to Robert Reynolds, president and chief executive officer, Putnam Investments.
Eaton Vance Unveils Cash Management Unit
Eaton Vance Management has formed a cash management unit and has hired a slew of fund executives to help manage its new business.
Eaton Vance Institutional Cash Management Services will provide cash management services to institutional investors in the U.S. and internationally through customized separate accounts.
BlackRock Sued by Funds Over Securities Lending Fees
BlackRock is accused in a lawsuit by two pension funds of reaping "grossly excessive" compensation from securities-lending returns associated with iShares.
"Defendants have systematically violated their fiduciary duties, setting up an excessive fee structure designed to loot securities lending returns properly due to iShares investors," the funds, which invest in iShares, said in a complaint in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee.
MANDATES
Citi Snags $6 Billion Custody Mandate
Citigroup has snagged a mandate from Forward Management to provide global custody services to support the Forward Funds, a family of traditional and alternative mutual funds with assets of $6 billion.
"Citi offered a scalable solution that could meet our evolving settlement and asset servicing needs, and the resources of a premier global bank to support our longer-term strategic objectives," according to Rob Naka, managing director of operations, in a statement.
Hawkeye State Colleges Eye Money Funds
The Iowa Regents Board, based off of a request for information inquiry substantiated by investment consultant Wilshire Associates, is assigned to vote on a money market mutual fund recommendation this week.
According to the action item, the board that manages funds for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa is slated to vote on its future money market mutual fund investment options at the Feb. 6 and 7 meeting.
PRODUCTS
Vanguard Preps Bond Index Fund
Vanguard last week said that it is readying the Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund and its exchange-traded fund shares to launch by the end of the second quarter.
The fund will offer conventional shares (Investor, Admiral, and Institutional) with projected expense ratios ranging from 12 basis points to 23 bps. The ETF shares have a projected expense ratio of 20 bps.
ARRIVALS
Confluence Names COO, CFO
Confluence has promoted two its key executives-James "Skip" Smith and Frederick Winston-to the roles of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, respectively.
Smith joined Confluence in December of 2010 as a vice president of product development, where he led product management, design and development, and project management for organizations globally. In the fall of last year, he was promoted to executive vice president.
Winston joined Confluence's San Francisco office in October of 2011 as a vice president of business development.
SEC Shores Up Enforcement Division
The Securities and Exchange Commission last month promoted George Canellos, currently Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement, as Acting Director. The appointment is effective February 8.
Canellos has been the division's Deputy Director since June 2012 and served as Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office from July 2009 to June 2012, overseeing 400 enforcement attorneys, accountants, investigators, and compliance examiners.
Henderson Adds Ex-DelawareCredit Team
Henderson Global Investors (North America) has gotten a bit more global.
The U.S. subsidiary of London-based Henderson Global Investors has built out its global fixed income side with the hire of a U.S. team headed by former Delaware Investments senior portfolio manager Kevin Loome.
DEPARTURE
Goldman's Chairman Retires
Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will retire later this year.
In a letter announcing O'Neill's retirement plans, Goldman chairman and chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein and president and chief operating officer Gary Cohn called O'Neill "an influential economist and thought leader" and "an expert in the world's foreign exchange and bond markets."
Putnam's Knight Decamps
Jeff Knight, who previously led Putnam Investments' Global Asset Allocation investment unit, which manages specialized multi-asset class portfolios for retail and institutional clients, has left the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to the firm.
Effective immediately, Knight will be replaced by newly crowned co-heads James Fetch, Robert Kea, Robert Schoen, and Jason Vaillancourt.
