NEWS SCAN
Manulife Lifts Equity Team From UBS
Manulife Asset Management has expanded its equity investing capabilities.
The firm last week announced its creation of a new Chicago-based U.S. small cap equity team brought over from UBS Global Asset Management.
Cornerstone Nabs Real Estate Mandate
Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers has strengthened its ties with OppenheimerFunds.
The Hartford, Conn., firm has been appointed to manage Oppenheimer's new Global Real Estate Fund. Cornerstone also manages the Oppenheimer Real Estate Fund, which typically invests in U.S. real estate securities.
RESEARCH
Mutual Funds Ramp Up Focus on Social Media
Asset managers ramped up their marketing and compliance staff dedicated to social media efforts by more than 60% from 2011 to 2012, according to new research from Boston-based Cerulli Associates.
"There was a 62% increase in marketing personnel dedicated to social media efforts within asset management firms, and a 76% increase in compliance personnel between 2011 and 2012," according to Pamela DeBolt, senior analyst at Cerulli Associates.
Three-quarters of Active Managers Underperform Indices
New research from NerdWallet, a personal finance site, is making a tough case for active managers to justify their fees.
That's because the study, which looked at more than 24,000 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds available to U.S. investors for the ten-year period ending on December 31, 2012, found that the asset-weighted average return of actively managed mutual funds over this period was 6.50%, while the passively managed index products averaged 7.30%.
Investors Overpay for Execution, Underestimate 401(k) Fees
A new survey by InvestingNerd, an online personal investing site, has revealed some "alarming" facts about investors' lack of knowledge concerning online brokerage accounts, stock trading and 401(k) fees.
Some key findings include: 81.4% incorrectly identified the type of account to open in order to trade stock online: a brokerage account; 92.6% underestimated the 401(k) fees the average household will pay over a lifetime by several thousand dollars. The real average totals over $150,000 per household.
PRODUCTS
Wilmington, BlackRock Pair Up on Retirement Funds
Wilmington Trust and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company are joining hands for a new suite of retirement funds.
The Wilmington, Del.-based institutional service provider announced that it will offer a suite of BlackRock-managed collective investment funds that invest in 10 index funds and 10 LifePath target date funds.
Wealth Management Firm Launches Maiden Mutual Fund
Wealth management shop Aspiriant has officially unveiled its maiden mutual fund: Aspiriant Risk-Managed Global Equity Fund (RMEAX). Money Management Executive previously reported on the fund's launch.
The fund will be broadly diversified, with allocations to U.S., developed international, and emerging equity markets. AQR Capital Management, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Parametric Risk Advisors are the sub-advisors for the fund.
Guggenheim Preps Equity Income Fund
Guggenheim Partners is readying a new mutual fund to bet on equity or equity-like securities.
The new fund, Guggenheim Global Enhanced Equity Income Fund, will invest in individual securities, exchange traded funds, and derivatives giving exposure to the equity markets, according to a regulatory filing.
Market Vectors Offers Hedged High-Yield ETF
Market Vectors ETF Trust has launched the Market Vectors Treasury-Hedged High Yield Bond ETF (THHY) to bet long on high-yield corporate bonds and short Treasury notes.
THHY has a net expense ratio of 145 basis points.
ARRIVALS
Kasina Nabs Ex-Eaton Vance Wholesaler
Kasina has hired Mike Sullivan as its vice president of sales. Sullivan will report to Joe Dolan, director of sales at Kasina, and will be based out of Kasina's newly established Boston office on Newbury Street.
Sullivan joins Kasinaafter most recently working for Eaton Vance as a wholesaler.
Franklin Beefs Up Advisory Services Business
Franklin Templeton Investments has appointed Robert Richardson as senior vice president and North America spokesperson for the company's North America Advisory Services business, including the U.S. and Canada.
Richardson will report to Dan O'Lear, head of Retail Distribution-North America. He joined Franklin Templeton in 1995, most recently serving as a senior advisor consultant covering the greater Houston area.
Salient Adds Ex-TRS PMs
Salient Partners, a $17.4 billion asset management firm, has appointed Rusty Guinn and Todd Centurino, as Directors of Investments. They previously worked for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
Guinn will lead the Portfolio Management group, which is responsible for managing Salient's multi-asset relationships and private investment funds, and Centurino will lead the management of Salient's public fund mandates.
DoubleLine Snags Ex-TCW Analysts
A team of former TCW Group equities analysts have joined DoubleLine Capital portfolio managers Husam Nazer and Brendt Stallings managing the DoubleLine Equity LP investment strategies.
Four of the five additions previously worked for Stallings' and Nazer's group at TCW. The analysts are Jonathan Ainley, Sunny Ommanney, Brian Shim and Kristine Smith. Ainley, Shim and Smith previously worked as research analysts at TCW.
Before DoubleLine, Ommanney served as chief executive officer of Nyima Foundation and, before that, as an equity research associate at Lazard Freres and Provident Investment Counsel.
Rodney Boone, hired as an equities trader, previously worked as an equities trader at TCW and at Bank of America Securities.
