Special Program Root Tag

While raising its forecasts for growth and inflation in Europe, Pimco expects long-dated yields to be further cut by the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program.

Having already developed cloud-born software for companies in industries dealing with sensitive and highly regulated data, including energy, education and healthcare, upstart technology firm Box is looking to add asset management firms to its client roster.

Hedge funds and mutual funds that once shunned venture-style deals are flocking to late-stage technology startups, paying 15 to 18 times projected sales for the year ahead in recent private-funding rounds

The perceived threat of asset managers operating as a shadow banking system, thereby needing bank-like regulatory oversight from the Fed, produced the strongest commentary at the ICI forum, as key speakers spoke of pushing back against any attempt to entwine firms into further government oversight.

The ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury fund has lost $6.1 billion of investor money since its inception in 2008, more than any other ETF has lost during its existence.

This week's notable news from the asset management industry includes a recent SEC roundtable meeting where some participants discussed the potential "unintended consequences" of universal proxy ballots, global ETP flows in February reached a record $50 billion, the fastest start to any year on record, and leadership at Vanguard were tasked with new roles within the firm.

F-Squared Investments, which last year admitted to misleading investors about its performance, has eliminated about 25% of its staff, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The time has come to create the position of chief data officer to manage the tidal wave of data-based regulations and reporting and implement a concrete data strategy - both to meet requirements but also more effectively make investment decisions and streamline back-, middle- and front-office operations.

Credit markets are getting a second wind, thanks to a Federal Reserve that’s suddenly not as confident the economy is strong enough to weather a steady rise in interest rates.

Scott Mather, who replaced Bill Gross as one of the portfolio managers of the Pimco Total Return Fund, has been buying government-backed bonds, helping boost its total mortgage allocation to 30% on Jan. 31 from 20% in September.

ETFs continue to be dominated by three big players: BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard Group, and State Street, which collectively control 82% of the roughly $2 trillion invested in ETFs.

Advisors have gotten better at evaluating target date funds, says James Lauder, CEO of Global Index Advisors. But it remains difficult, he adds, because a uniform benchmark approach toward target date funds isn't available.

According to a Fundstrat Global Advisors survey of 3,265 funds, more than half posted gains that exceeded benchmark indexes in 2015 through March 6, for their best start to a year since 2012.

Among the wealthiest clients, Fidelity and Vanguard retain their perennial leadership positions in firm perception, but there is room for others to advance their brand, according to a new study on investor sentiment toward insurance and retirement investment product providers.

As the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates, exchange-traded funds designed to protect bond portfolios from the fallout are likely to see big inflows.

This week's highlights includes how competition is forcing ETF providers to cut fees on products; research on how corporate bond ETFs can help institutional investors manage investment flows; and Chinese demand for portfolio managers.

WisdomTree Investments has gained 33% this year, driven by the success of two exchange-traded funds that let investors buy European and Japanese stocks while avoiding the decline in the currencies.

For the third consecutive year in 2014, JPMorgan attracted more net new money to its actively managed equity funds than any of its U.S. mutual fund competitors. In a year in which larger rivals such as Fidelity and American Funds suffered redemptions from active stock funds, it gained $18.3 billion.

Silicon Valley idealists, Robinhood's founders insist that users come first and that their startup will focus on generating a profit later. But, when pressed, they say they make money by gleaning some of the interest on cash held in customer accounts and soon will charge users to borrow to make trades.

MainStay Marketfield was supplanted as the largest alternative mutual fund after assets dropped to $7.3 billion as of Feb. 28 from more than $21 billion a year earlier, according to data from Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. The $8.1 billion Gateway Fund now holds the distinction.