Special Program Root Tag

The Money Management Institute has named its new chairman, chair elect and six new board members.

To expand its footprint in the managed account business, Fiserv announced Monday it has acquired AdviceAmerica, a provider of financial planning software for independent advisors and institutions.

An "empowered investor base" insisting on more transparency and liquidity from managers, as well as absolute returns and uncorrelated investment strategies, has led to a spike in demand for alternative mutual funds, a report concluded.

The cost-basis reporting requirements are going to be a quagmire for shareholders and fund complexes alike.

Over the last number of years, mutual fund transfer agencies and shareholder communications companies have tried to convince shareholders to accept paperless summary prospectuses, proxies, trade confirmations and electronically stamped signatures. Fund supermarkets and web home pages have broadened their horizons to include market commentary, videostreaming and personal financial news.

Bullion Heads Payden's New Boston Office

JPMorgan, consistently one of the top municipal bond underwriters, has been responding to increased appetite in the market recently by expanding its retail networks, marketing taxable munis for international distribution, and bulking up its public finance staff.

IRS Probes 401(k) Compliance

LPL, the largest independent broke/-dealer, filed S-1 forms with the Securities Exchange Commission Friday to become a public corporation.

Tax-exempt money market funds shed $3.91 billion in the week ending May 31, finishing with total net assets of $352.92 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com. That was a significantly steeper decline than the previous week, in which the funds saw $156.7 million of outflows and ended with $356.83 billion.

To attract more business from small businesses, Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced Thursday it relaunched a retirement services platform for companies with fewer than 100 employees.

WASHINGTON — Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Warren Buffett warned a panel investigating the causes of the financial crisis Wednesday that states and localities may face “terrible” financial distress in the next five to 10 years that in turn could lead some to look to the federal government for bailouts.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is intensifying its campaign to increase its wealth management and private banking footprint nationally as it hired in New York and Miami as well as a planned expansion in Charlotte, N.C.

As many as 11,000 wirehouse advisers may be on the move, according to a report by Aite Group in Boston.

A former Merrill Lynch broker is out one red Ferrari.

U.S. corporations have hearty cash flows. Consumers are inclined to keep spending. And European banks have the means to weather a sovereign debt default, according MFS Investment Management.

Investors pulled $16.6 billion from long-term mutual funds in the week ended May 26, the Investment Company Institute said Wednesday. It was the second week of outflows since mid-May, reversing the previous 57 straight weeks of inflows. Long-term funds lost $9.9 billion in the week ended May 12 and managed to take in $4.3 billion the following week ended May 19.

An “empowered investor base” demanding greater transparency and liquidity from managers, while also zeroing in on absolute returns and uncorrelated investment strategies, has led to a significant demand for alternative mutual funds in the U.S. and Europe, a new whitepaper finds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are warning investors to beware of stock scams that promise easy profits from cleanup efforts related to the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Payden & Rygel announced Wednesday with a WSJ tombstone advertisement that it has opened its first office on the East Coast, selecting Boston’s Financial District.