Special Program Root Tag

Aviva Investors, Pat O'Brien

Two influential advisor trade groups-the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and Financial Planning Coalition, which consists of the Certified Planner Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors-finally sent in their comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, on a blanket fiduciary standard for all financial advisers.

State Street Corp., known for its passive asset management, may soon expand its small active management business.

Vanguard has launched eight index mutual funds and nine exchange-traded funds based on Standard & Poor's domestic stock benchmarks.

Once, pension plan sponsors and holders of assets who wanted to end a relationship with an underperforming asset manager or change an investment strategy had only to sell the relevant assets, deliver the cash to the new manager or managers and wait for the new securities to be purchased.

The Securities and Exchange Commission Friday approved the expansion of its post-Flash Crash circuit breaker program to include all stocks in the Russell 1000 Index and a test group of exchange-traded funds.

Financial adviser to the stars Kenneth I. Starr, Starr & Co. pled guilty before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Friday to ripping off $50 million from A-listers including Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, Uma Thurman, Nora Ephron and Al Pacino.

Invesco PowerShares has contracted for exclusive rights to four Keefe Bruyette & Woods indexes to offer specialized exchange-traded funds in real estate, financial services and property and casualty insurance.

Douglas Lee Campbell, a former senior vice president and marketer in Bank of America’s municipal derivatives group, pleaded guilty Thursday to three criminal counts for engaging in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies connected with guaranteed investment contract and other municipal finance agreements.

Assets of money market funds increased by $10.55 billion in the week ended Wednesday, Sept. 8, bringing total assets to $2.839 trillion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

Turner Investment Partners has hired James A. Wylie as chief marketing officer and executive managing director, in charge of international sales, marketing and client services. He reports to Bob Turner, chairman and chief investment officer, overseeing more than $16 billion.

State Street Corp., known for its passive asset management, may soon expand its small active management business.

Hedge fund performance declined last month, but continued to outperform broader stock markets.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced Thursday it promoted Jeff Reiss to national sales manager of its mutual fund arm.

While it’s not back on its feet yet, the U.S. economy is proving more resilient than many naysayers predicted, according to September’s Monthly Outlook from Wells Fargo’s economics group.

Vanguard has launched eight index mutual funds and nine exchange-traded funds based on Standard & Poor's domestic stock benchmarks.

Investors continue to take money out of stock mutual funds, with outflows nearly doubling in each of the past two weeks.

ETFS Marketing, a division of ALPS Distributors that specializes in exchange-traded fund marketing, investment research and public relations, has hired Patrick Carter for its U.S. sales team as a senior vice president. Carter will specialize in selling the company’s physically backed precious metal suite of products on the West Coast.

Even though 80% of Americans aged 44 to 75 said they would choose a product with a 4% return and a guarantee against losing its value, over a fund aiming for an 8% return but subject to market risk—54% said they would not select an annuity.

Vanguard launched an online service that allows individuals to compare income annuities from different insurance companies.