Fund performance

ETFs are not only for the retail investor looking to make investments on the cheap; product providers and researchers report institutions are increasingly driving ETF inflows by adding them to portfolios.

The most dangerous time for the Treasury market this month will be when the U.S. issues employment data on Friday, if February and March are any guide.

With the inclusion of data analytics, wholesaler compensation can be adjusted to put more attention on asset retention, says Matthew Fronczke, a director of research at kasina.

This week's roundup of notable industry news includes how fear over Fed interest rate hikes spurred investors to withdraw billions from bond ETFs this month.

Fischer said regulators must be attuned to the growth and evolution of the asset management industry after funds “that track the returns of indexes of relatively illiquid assets have mushroomed in size.”

Howard Marks said the impact on liquidity of ETFs, liquid alternatives and new rules designed to stop banks from trading with their own money has yet to be tested.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.