Fund performance

Buy an index fund and let the bull market guide you to a 44% gain. Most money managers who actually pick stocks couldn't match the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, let alone beat it. Thanks to three weeks of volatility, that’s beginning to change.

Deborah Fuhr, a veteran ETF industry observer, says the explosive growth of ETFs is vindication for a product once dismissed by some investment professionals. In a discussion with Money Management Executive, Fuhr outlines factors that have led to the market's enthusiastic acceptance of ETFs.

BlackRock’s chief executive officer has warned the retreat of banks as counterparties in credit will create severe volatility. Regulators are preparing new rules for mutual funds to ensure that a sudden stampede out of funds won’t result in a downward price spiral that threatens the financial system.

The industry in 2014 saw Pimco bleed billions after the abrupt departure of Bill Gross in September, while BlackRock reaped the benefits of that disarray. BlackRock's iShares ETFs captured $102.8 billion in investments in 2014. Also, Vanguard announced it would offer its first ETF focused on the $3.6 trillion U.S. municipal bond market, and a Cerulli study detailed the state of the annuities market.

Pimco will fight a lawsuit by a shareholder of its Total Return Fund alleging the company gouges investors with excessive advisory fees to support billion-dollar bonuses for top executives.

As additional regulations are anticipated this year, the industry is beginning to aggressively seek to defragment the technology, data and services most critical to improving business performance and reducing operational and reputational risk.

Dimensional is among a small group of managers toppling the dominance of firms such as Fidelity Investments and Capital Group, which have built their reputations on picking individual stocks. Among the fastest-growing U.S. mutual fund firms after assets surged almost six-fold in the past decade, Dimensional attracted almost $28 billion in new money in 2014.

At the SourceMedia MDM & Data Governance Summit in New York, TIAA-CREF, along with Princeton, N.J.,-based Global IDs, a technology firm that provides companies methods to manage their information, discussed the challenges of the big data problem and finding answers.

The final two months of 2014 made the year for some managers who were able to navigate plunging oil prices, surging stock-market volatility and a rising dollar, catapulting these firms to returns of 20% or more.

Four ETP launches in 2014 crossed the $250 million asset milestone before the end of the year, while five ETPs launched in 2014 were closed before the end of the year.

Investors poured $102.8 billion into exchange-traded funds run by BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, as they made record use of the fastest-growing product in the money management industry.

In 2015, much of the industry's growth outlook will depend on how competition fares between the cascade of funds entering the market, currency hedging and smart beta trends, and the momentum new non-transparent ETFs can gain with investors and offerings.

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s biggest mutual fund had the worst year of client withdrawals in the history of fund management as the firm lost both of its co-chief investment officers, Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian. Investors pulled $19.4 billion from Pimco Total Return Fund in December, bringing redemptions in 2014 to a record $105 billion.

The $162.8 billion Pimco Total Return Fund returned 4.7 percent in 2014, trailing 53% of comparable funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In 2013, it lost 1.9%, lagging behind 65% of peers.

Companies that ignore the big picture are severely punished in the marketplace, especially when they misstep. Companies that display concern for what happens outside their walls get the nod from a new generation of investors.

Year-to- date, energy ETFs have attracted $9.25 billion of new money, the most of any sector behind real estate funds and more than triple the same period in 2013.

States and local governments boosted debt sales to $43.7 billion so far in December, the highest monthly total in at least a year.

A big jump in clients’ risk appetite is why the Retirement Advisor Confidence Index climbed 2.3 points in December, reaching a five-month high of 54.

The SPDR Nuveen Barclays Build America Bond ETF proved the best choice during a record-setting year for muni exchange- traded funds. Its 20.6 % gain through Dec. 23 was highest among the 26 muni ETFs tracked by Bloomberg.

Municipals delivered solid performance overall thanks to the strength of the long duration and high-yield segments.