Fund performance

Aston Asset Management announced that its mutual fund assets under management exceeded $10 billion, as of the close of business on January 19. Aston surpassed the $10 billion mark shortly after celebrating its five-year anniversary.

Money Management Executive is nearing its 20th year of operation. For two decades, the newsweekly has been providing top executives in the asset management business with the information and insight they need to get their jobs done effectively.

Bank of America’s Global Wealth and Investment Management business saw its 2011 fourth quarter net income decline precipitously compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 as lower transactional activity offset higher net interest income and asset management fees.

When it comes to bond funds — or any mutual funds — past performance is not the best way to analyze them. Instead, S&P Capital IQ Analyst Todd Rosenbluth suggests investors should consider the credit risk of the underlying bonds, as well as a fund’s duration, i.e. price sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ research unit said it has developed a method of forecasting negative and positive earnings surprises of a magnitude of 5% or larger.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards -- focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

Know what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards-focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

Did you have the foresight to invest heavily for your clients in Pacific Investment Management Co.'s 25-year zero-coupon U.S. Treasury exchange-traded bond fund, one year ago?

Know what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

Amidst the worried debate over whether the United States will tumble into recession this year, market watchers agree on one thing: volatility is here to stay.

Morningstar on Wednesday announced its Fund Manager of the Year Awards, with the top honors for the fixed income category going to portfolio managers at Fidelity Investments, Artisan and Tweedy, Browne.

Did you have the foresight to invest heavily for your clients in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s 25-year zero coupon U.S. Treasury exchange-traded bond fund, one year ago?

The operators of the Chicago Board Options Exchange said its futures exchange achieved record volume in 2011, based on its fear index.

2011 was a tumultuous year, one that left most industry executives deeply uncertain about the future. The following predictions are meant to provide the industry with 10 key insights that should help clarify some of these uncertainties.

The best-performing mutual funds of 2011 invested in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks—putting utility, real estate investment trust, healthcare and consumer staple funds at the top of the heap.

Volatility, the fear of a second worldwide recession, continued aversion to equity funds and uncertainty over Dodd-Frank regulatory fallout-all headlined 2011.

As a client takes distributions, a money manager ultimately becomes more important than asset allocation as the sequence and volatility of market returns rises.

Only 30 stocks comprise the world’s most closely watched index – the Dow Jones Industrial Average – and its daily, weekly, monthly and annual gains (or losses) serve as a very handy – albeit simplistic – snapshot of investor sentiment and a decent barometer of how the U.S. and world economies are fairing.

U.S. homes are expected to lose more than $681 billion in value during 2011—and while that sounds like a staggering figure, it is 35% less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010, Zillow Real Estate Market Reports said.