Special Program Root Tag

SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar said that the agency should look at the “cash management industry as a whole” instead of zeroing in only on money market funds.

After a large inflow for the previous week, assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $1.06 billion to $1.686 trillion for the week ending Aug. 22.

The inclusion of alternative ETFs in a portfolio provides a risk-adjusted benefit to investors, according to research from Lipper.

John Hancock Financial, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp., has named James D. Gallagher as executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer.

The SEC has approved an Amex Options exchange plan to test trading in options contracts without any limits on the amount of contracts held in the SPDR S&P 500 Exchanged-Traded Fund. That gives the NYSE Euronext unit the ability to match the no-limits policy offered by the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

The Investment Company Institute, which lobbied heavily against money market regulatory changes that were supported by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, said it was “pleased” that the commission was dropping its plans to pursue those changes.

Plan participants who pick their own mix of investment options are generally exposed to greater risk due to reduced diversification, according to The Principal.

KPMG has brought on board several new partners and managing directors to bolster the firm’s Alternative Investment Funds practice.

Money Fund Reform Drops Dead

Here is the text of the statement by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro on money market mutual fund reform

Investors last week pulled an estimated $2.67 billion from U.S. stock funds, down from $3.56 billion the prior week and half that two weeks earlier.

Legg Mason is planning to offer a number of index ETFs as well as actively managed fund of funds ETFs.

Heavy lobbying continues in the lead-up to what some expect will be an Aug. 29 SEC vote on controversial money market reforms.

With 1,000 ETFs now trading on Xetra, the Deutsche Bourse’s electronic trading platform, the exchange remains the leading trading venue for ETFs in Europe.

Two trade groups for corporate treasurers have sounded the alarm about proposed reforms of money market funds, warning that proposed regulations could reduce large companies' financing options - and add to their dependence on megabanks.

Jensen Investment Management has hired Gabe Goddard as chief compliance officer and counsel.

Curian Capital has rolled out two alternative-focused strategies for separate accounts.

The measure of success for Christopher Donahue's defense? That the SEC so far this year has not sought a showdown on reform.

The federal regulator said it has identified the first recipient of a ‘whistleblower’ award, intended to help curb fraud in the securities industry. But the recipient and the case involved were not identified.

With the departure of Peter Ehret, formerly a senior money manager at Invesco, the firm announced a number of changes to its portfolio manager lineup.