Investment funds

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

As the mutual fund universe becomes more crowded and the strategies offered to investors become more complex, fund managers are under pressure to further differentiate themselves and their brands from the competition.

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

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

FINRA is scaling back on "supersized" fines.

Bloomberg -- A year ago, when opposition from the asset-management industry killed her plan to make money-market mutual funds safer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro looked to Timothy Geithner, then the Treasury Secretary, to tackle “one of the pieces of unfinished business from the financial crisis.”

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

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch has capped off the summer with a round of hires from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management has rehired a former BNY Mellon veteran to oversee the business strategy for the wealth management business and spearhead the expansion of the sales force, the firm announced Tuesday.

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

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

Oppenheimer & Co., a unit of Oppenheimer Holdings announced the appointment of Doron Barness to Head of New York Institutional Equity Sales Trading, working out of the firm's New York headquarters.

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.

Morningstar today published its inaugural issue of Financial Services Observer, a research report examining the competitive shifts in the U.S. wealth management industry, companies responses to industry changes following the financial crisis, and which companies Morningstar equity analysts think are poised to be a boon for shareholders.

Bloomberg -- Bank of America Corp. is seeking approval of a $160 million settlement from a judge who thrice rejected requests by black financial advisers at its Merrill Lynch unit to sue as a group over alleged racial discrimination.

The modern version of balanced funds, these portfolios continue to make inroads with investors.

Advisors should be leery of the fads in mutual fund strategies, warns a top Morningstar analyst.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that three whistleblowers have been awarded a combined total of $25,000 for tips they provided to help the SEC and Justice Department to thwart a sham hedge fund.

Huntington announced today that Gregory A. Smith was named president of Cincinnati-based Haberer Registered Investment Advisor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Huntington National Bank. Smith will report to Steven Short, executive vice president and director of Huntington Wealth Advisors.

Bloomberg -- Brokers face restrictions on using clients’ assets as collateral for other trades, as part of a push by global regulators to prevent the securities lending market from sparking chain reactions that could cause a crisis.