Investment funds

FPA has launched the International Value Strategy portfolio, with plans to roll out a mutual fund version in the near future.

David Blaine is an illusionist, often referred to as a modern-day Houdini.

Van Eck Global has launched the Market Vectors Renminbi Bond ETF, a exchange-traded fund that offers exposure to Chinese renminbi-denominated bonds through the Market Vectors Renminbi Bond Index.

Here are the photos of the people who attended Money Management Executive's 2011 NOVA Awards presentation -- and the 2011 NOVA Awards winners. Below, see Doug Chittendon, President of TIAA-CREF, accepting the Innovation in Customer Experience Platinum Award from SourceMedia EVP and Managing Director Bruce Morris. For the complete slide show, click here.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has designated the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as the agency to develop and maintain the system for hedge fund advisors to to receive new registration forms for hedge fund advisers and established a filing fee of $150.

Ashmore Investment Management, an emerging markets specialist headquartered in London, has introduced the Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity Fund.

Investors withdrew $5 billion from U.S. stock and bond long-term funds in September, Strategic Insight reports. This was a "significant improvement" from August, when open-end and closed-end mutual funds (excluding ETFs and VA sub-accounts) were hit with $33.6 billion in outflows following the downgrade of the U.S. debt rating.

Mutual fund managers prided themselves on sticking to their investment mandates early on in the financial crisis of 2008. This, even as the average U.S. stock fund fell nearly 30% in value. They counseled investors to do the same. Three years later, there is a new direction for funds: the flexibility to go anywhere, to pay closer attention to macroeconomic and market trends, and to even hunker down in cash.

Thirty years ago,Russell Investments changed the landscape of how fund firms could evaluate managerial performance, by launching broad benchmarks of stock performance in the United States.

In the three years since the financial crisis hit, investors have remained cautious, but their tolerance for risk has actually held steady, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

Man Investments has launched the Man Long Short Fund, a ’40 Act equity hedge fund-of-fund that will invest in up to 30 portfolios and offer monthly liquidity. With a minimum investment of $50,000, the fund will only be available to high-net-worth clients of top-tier broker-dealers.

Long-term mutual funds had total outflows of $10.95 billion in the week ended Oct. 5, the Investment Company Institute said. This was up substantially from the $5.68 billion of outflows in the previous week ended Sept. 28.

Investors withdrew $5 billion from U.S. stock and bond long-term funds in September, Strategic Insight reports.

Gemini Fund Services is expanding its portfolio, building out its Northern Lights Fund Trust I shared mutual fund trust with the addition of three new funds from Ascendant Advisors.

Hedge funds took in $6.1 billion in net new flows in August, marking the seventh month of inflows since January, according to BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research. For the first eight months of the year, hedge funds have seen $51 billion in inflows.

While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 14.3% in the third quarter, many mutual fund categories performed worse, according to Lipper.

BlackRock has launched three mutual funds that invest in alternative investments, the BlackRock Commodity Strategies, BlackRock Emerging Markets Long/Short and BlackRock Global Long/Short Credit funds.

Investors have pulled nearly $80 billion this year out of mutual funds that invest in U.S. stocks. That's the tally after investors yanked $5.5 billion from all types of mutual funds in the last week of September.

While the boards of directors of mutual funds are not responsible for managing risk, they still have a key role to play in overseeing investment and operational risks, according to a white paper just released by the Investment Company Institute and Independent Board of Directors.

Litman Gregory Fund Advisors has launched the Litman Gregory Masters Alternative Strategies Fund, a multi-manager, multi-strategy fund that offers investors diversified exposure to absolute return-oriented strategies.