Investment funds

John Roth, manager of Fidelity Investment's New Millennium Fund, opens up to MME about the tensions between active and passive management, hard lessons learned during the financial crisis of 2008, and the biggest challenges he sees ahead.

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.

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit must face a lawsuit filed by two trusts that hold and administer mortgages on behalf of investors who own more than $1 billion worth of securities collateralized by the loans.

S&P Capital IQ, a business line of McGraw Hill Financial, announced the opening of a new office in Mexico City from which it will both provide a variety of investment and credit in-depth information analysis tools and research for local financial professionals as well as increase data coverage of Mexican and Latin American securities,

Advisors who want to work with the next generation of millionaires will need to roll up their sleeves.

Oppenheimer Funds and Putnam Investments have won top honors in the 11th annual NOVA Awards for innovation in the investment management industry.

There have been 16 straight weeks of outflows from muni bond funds, to the tune of $26.4 billion, and industry watchers do not expect flows to bounce back anytime soon.

Investcorp's U.S.-based Hedge Fund business announced that Elena Ranguelova has come on board as Head of Credit and Equity Strategies.

We often hear of the gender gap in politics, with women identifying more as Democrats. On public policy issues, women are more likely than men to favor an activist role for government in guaranteeing health care and basic social services while also being more supportive of gun control, same-sex marriage and legalized abortion.

Anti-money laundering policies were identified by both FINRA and the SEC as a top priority for examinations of broker-dealers in 2013. In its exam guidance, FINRA noted "an increase in foreign currency conversion transactions." It also stressed that there are no exemptions from the AML requirement for member firms, even if the company holds no customer funds.

(Bloomberg) – The largest developing nations for the first time have the worst market opportunities as optimism for stronger growth shifts to the U.S. and Europe, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll.

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.

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.

FINRA’s Board of Governors will finally consider its controversial plan to require transitioning advisors to disclose recruitment incentives.

(Bloomberg) – A Morgan Stanley employee identifying himself as a credit audit specialist sued the bank over claims he suffered retaliation after he discussed the growing number of high-risk loans in its portfolio.

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.

Building a successful fund requires a distinguishable brand, an effective marketing strategy, and a commitment to distribution support.

Loomis, Sayles & Company announced that Peter Marber has joined the company as head of emerging markets investments.

(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.