BlackRock

The firm plans to charge nine basis points for exposure to a basket of large-cap stocks, lower than any other comparable offering.

The pension fund wants to outsource some or all of its $26.2 billion in private equity investments with the money manager, people close to the matter said.

Once advisors have this conversation with clients, it can turn into a powerful referral source, says Rob Kron, head of investment and retirement education at BlackRock.

In addition to launching new smart beta funds, the firm may look to expand into “a whole host of different asset classes,” according to one executive.

The new European Union rules were discussed on 50 earnings calls since BlackRock reported results on July 17, up from 17 mentions in May and June.

It would be the first fund of its kind from the asset management giant. Plus; other launches.

As fee cuts have become key to winning flows, managers turn to cheaper indexers, while some build in-house benchmarking teams.

Investors may be shifting to cheaper options, or simply taking profits while markets are high.

Large-cap equities were the only group of offerings that outperformed their respective benchmark.

New bond ETFs from the firm use alternative weightings to chase "superior risk adjusted and total returns” compared with market-cap weighted products.