Fund performance

Options have been used in asset management for several decades, but due to current market conditions asset managers' interest has been renewed in this strategy. With bonds in a bear market and an equity market meandering horizontally, these managers are embracing options as a way to generate income while protecting against the downside.

Operating in an environment where we are all expected to do more with less, asset managers increasingly rely on service providers. By constantly reinvesting in their businesses and infrastructure, established providers can easily scale and position asset managers for the future.

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, which is set to receive another $57 billion of deposits from Citigroup Inc. as part of its Smith Barney purchase, plans to accelerate lending to put those funds to use.

Laif Meidell is president of American Wealth Management and a FINRA registered representative with Foothill Securities, a hybrid Reno, Nev.-based RIA firm.

Bank of America has expanded its suite of investing tools for its mass-affluent do-it-yourself customers.

g) – Emerging markets offer good long- term buying opportunities as economies globally improve, Robert Kapito, co-founder and president of BlackRock Inc., said. There is too much short-term thinking in investing and foreign investors should be diversified in order to survive this period of market volatility, Kapito said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Susan Li.

While equity mutual fund investors headed for the doors in droves after getting pummeled during the Great Recession, many 401(k) participants and mutual fund investors have continued to add to their asset allocation funds, which include target-risk, target-date and other mixed-asset funds.

The 2008 and 2009 global financial crisis left many investors disappointed with the high volatility and negative performance of their portfolios and leading them to re-evaluate the risk reducing ability of asset allocation.

Operating in an environment where we are all expected to do more with less, asset managers increasingly rely on service providers.

Laif Meidell is president of American Wealth Management and a FINRA registered representative with Foothill Securities, a hybrid Reno, Nev.-based RIA firm.

With heavyweights like Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) throwing its hat into the managed futures mutual fund ring, interest from both investors and asset management in this investment vehicle appears to be rising.

Options have been used in asset management for several decades, but due to current market conditions asset managers' interest has been renewed in this strategy. With bonds in a bear market and an equity market meandering horizontally, these managers are embracing options as a way to generate income while protecting against the downside.

Growth from both retail and institutional investors has been steady in what is now called ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues.

The "do it yourself" investor crowd is not exactly new. But now it has a newfound source of power. A new tool on the market from Motif Investing makes it easier than ever for individual investors to create their own ETF-like investment funds.

The "do it yourself" investor crowd is not exactly new. But now it has a newfound source of power. A new tool on the market from Motif Investing makes it easier than ever for individual investors to create their own ETF-like investment funds. The timing is what makes this tool potentially troubling for established mutual fund and ETF companies. Combined with an overall mistrust of the financial industry and a general populist empowerment (social media, anyone?), it could become the next disruptive change.

The 50 largest asset managers accounted for more than US$38 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2012. This is a full US$4 trillion more than the year before, even as the biggest firms in the industry continue to enlarge, according to The Cerulli Report: Global Markets 2013.

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. will pay $39 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of women employees at its Merrill Lynch unit, according to court filings.

With heavyweights like Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) throwing its hat into the managed futures mutual fund ring, interest from both investors and asset management in this investment vehicle appears to be rising.

Help wanted: Must have proven leadership ability, strong sales skills and big ideas.

The country’s 20th-largest independent broker has a new name and a new pitch to independent advisors.