Executive Briefings

NEWS SCAN

Value Line Dumps Money Fund

Value Line Funds has combined the Value Line U.S. Government Money Market Fund (VLCXX) into the Reich & Tang Daily Income Fund - U.S . Government Portfolio, effective October 19.

In a statement, Mitchell Appel, president of Value Line Funds, framed the deal as a "win-win" for the firm's shareholders. "Our retail shareholders now have access to an institutional money market product not previously available directly to them.''

A Due Diligence Checklist for ETFs? Check.

The rapid growth in exchange-traded funds is making the landscape a treacherous one for investors and advisors alike.

Enter State Street Global Advisors, which has released an ETF Due Diligence Checklist to help investors and advisors evaluate an ETF's index, provider, product structure, total cost, and liquidity.

Equity Funds Lose $1.7 Billion

Mutual funds saw inflows of $7.95 billion for the week ended Wednesday, October 17, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Equity funds continued to bleed assets, losing $1.73 billion for the week, compared to estimated outflows of $2.61 billion in the previous week. Hybrid funds had estimated inflows of $818 million for the week, compared to estimated inflows of $242 million in the previous week.

T. Rowe's Assets Climb

T. Rowe Price Group said last week that it finished up the third quarter with about $574.4 billion in assets under management, marking a $32.7 billion increase over the period.

T. Rowe Price said appreciation in value as well as income accounted for $28.4 billion of the increase in assets under management. Net revenues for the period included about $769.7 million and net income was $247.3 million, the firm said Oct. 24.

ICI Gives Website a Facelift

The Investment Company Institute is touting its more user-friendly website, which includes a new overall look and improved navigation.

New features include "quick links" on every page along with simplified content organization. The website also incorporates new sharing and social media tools for material that is available to the public, as well as more prominent links to provide access to the IDC and ICI Global websites.

PRODUCTS

RiverNorth Hopes Investors Will 'Buy-Write'

RiverNorth Capital Management has launched a new options/volatility mutual fund: the RiverNorth Dynamic Buy-Write Fund (RNBWX), which sells what the firm believes to be the "most attractive covered equity options."

The fund will bet on U.S. exchange-listed equity options, equities and exchange-traded funds.

A Global Bearish ETF Arises

AdvisorShares is currently prepping a global short-selling exchange-traded fund dubbed the International Bear ETF, to launch within the next few months.

According to a filing, the fund will short internationally-traded equity securities but will also have exposure to American Depository Receipts and fixed-income securities.

RESEARCH

Survey: Asset Firms Need Expense Mgt. Overhaul

When it comes to revenue and expense management, the investment management industry is fragmented and in need of a major overhaul, according to a recent survey of overseas investment managers by Bonaire Software Solutions.

Specifically, 67% of respondents cited data consistency across business units as one of their biggest challenges with expense management. According to the survey, accounting staff members within asset management shops are challenged with disconnected business units and paying vendor invoices without having the chance to validate fees.

ARRIVALS

Paladyne Lands Ex-Eagle Sales Exec

Paladyne Systems has appointed Paul Cucurullo as senior director of sales to lead and develop the Paladyne offering for long-only asset managers and investment advisors.

Cucurullo joins Paladyne from Eagle Investment Systems, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon, where he served as a regional director.

Ex-Dimensional Sales Exec Heads to Rocky Mountains

Marc Jimenez, former regional director for Dimensional Funds, a $240 billion mutual fund family, has joined Cambridge Southern Financial Advisors to run the firm's new Denver office.

Principal Funds' Chief Takes on Side Gig

Principal Funds' president and CEO Nora Everett has been elected to the Investment Company Institute's Board of Governors. Everett, one of seven new members, will serve a three-year term expiring September 30, 2015.

Everett joined the Principal Financial Group in 1991 and was promoted to senior vice president in 2004. She became president of Principal Funds in 2008.

Calvert Boosts Internal Sales Team

Socially responsible shop Calvert Investments has added Darryl Keeton as director of internal sales, responsible for internal-external sales team partnerships and developing the firm's internal sales team.

Keeton most recently served as senior vice president for RIA Distribution at Neuberger Berman Management, where he was responsible for building the custodian and Turnkey Asset Management Programs channels. His product experience includes open and closed-end mutual funds, structured products, exchange-traded notes, and alternative or non-traditional investments.

What Can Brown Do For Callan?

Callan Associates has added Dana Brown to its Fund Sponsor Consulting group as senior vice president. Brown is based in Atlanta and reports to James Callahan, executive vice president and head of Callan's Fund Sponsor Consulting practice.

Prior to making the move to Callan, Brown was a vice president and senior investment consultant with The Newport Group, responsible for providing investment and fiduciary consulting services to corporate retirement plans of Fortune 500 public and private companies.

DEPARTURE

Loomis Sayles Loses PM to Eaton Vance

Kathleen Gaffney, a former member of Loomis, Sayles & Company's multi-sector "full discretion" fixed-income portfolio management team, has left the firm to join Eaton Vance Investment Managers as co-director of Investment Grade Fixed Income.

She will serve alongside Thomas Luster as co-leader of the investment grade fixed-income team and will report to Payson Swaffield, chief income investment officer.

STATISTICS

$72B year-to-date redemptions in open-end mutual funds.

This is actually an improvement over a loss of $267 billion in 2010 and $143 billion in 2009.

SOURCE: Cerulli Associates

97 ETFs were in existence at the end of August in the Japanese ETF industry,

with assets of US$44 Billion, from 11 providers on three exchanges.

SOURCE: ETFGI

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