Hedge funds

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.

Acadian Asset Management, the Boston-based quant fund that says it shares its investment secrets with clients, has set up in Japan as the nation starts to embrace smart beta strategies.

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.

Pacific Investment Management Co., the firm that has been pushing into equities since 2009, is expanding its stock offerings by adding seven new strategies with Robert Arnott’s Research Affiliates.

Many firms manage the distribution of summary prospectuses and upkeep of the related websites in-house via a painstaking manual process. However, these firms may not be aware of how much this effort is costing them and whether they are truly complying with Rule 498 and delivering a positive investor experience.

The majority of money gathered by Gross’s new fund at Janus Capital Group Inc. came from the same Morgan Stanley brokerage where his personal financial adviser works, according to the Wall Street Journal. The wealth-management office in La Jolla, Calif., routed about $700 million to Gross’s fund in October and November, the newspaper reported yesterday.

Vanguard Group Inc. plans to offer its first exchange-traded fund focused on the $3.6 trillion U.S. municipal-bond market.

The key to being quoted accurately - and more often - can be summed up in two words: sound bites. Developing the ability to speak and write in sound bites is essential.

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 an effort to groom their top talent, some of the industry's biggest financial firms are offering training on how to look and sound like a powerful executive. But how do you tell Ivy League MBAs they need to work on their image?

Morgan Stanley is in talks with the U.S. to resolve an investigation into the bank’s creation and sale of mortgage-backed bonds, the latest in a string of Wall Street cases tied to the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said.

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.

Investors in the world’s biggest ETP backed by bullion sold the most gold in 18 months as the U.S. economic recovery cut demand for a haven.

The ETF industry in the U.S. has finally broken through the $2 trillion milestone, demonstrating the product’s surge in popularity with investors. Through December 22nd, assets have increased 18% in 2014 from $1.698 trillion to $2.007 trillion based on positive market performance and net new assets.