Investment products

Putnam Investments LLC, the asset manager in its fifth year of a turnaround effort by Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Reynolds, introduced six new mutual funds, including two aimed at investors weary of stock swings.

Last year, Congress passed the JOBS Act, a new bill designed to foster the growth of startups. Hedge funds were particularly excited about the bill because it was expected to allow the SEC to form new rules for the industry. Jesse Marrus writes, in the months since the bill was passed, little has come from the JOBS Act. Hedge funds are still waiting to hear from the SEC, and investors are still jumping through hoops.

Total stock and bond mutual fund and ETF assets distributed by independent/regional broker-dealers and registered investment advisors grew at more than twice the rate compared to the wirehouse channel during 2012, according to newly released data from Access Data.

Eight mutual fund companies have been named Best In Group, winning the 2013 Lipper Fund Awards for the U.S., with TIAA-CREF and Delaware Management Company collecting the top group awards.

Janus Capital Group, the money manager that made its name placing big bets on stocks, is trying something new to stem a five-year customer exodus.

For the week ended March 6, investors steered an estimated $11.85 billion into mutual funds, up 41% from the previous week.

The first two months of 2013 marked net flows of $140 billion into stock and bond funds, the best start for the mutual fund industry on record, according to Strategic Insight.

At the outset, the U.S. Supreme Court's latest ruling against the Securities and Exchange Commission-that there is a five-year limit on bringing fraud claims- may sound like a victory for mutual funds and their advisors.

Financial Risk Management Ltd., a unit of the world’s largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager Man Group Plc, may see the best return from its multistrategy funds of funds since 2009, said its chief investment officer.

Fidelity Investments, the biggest U.S. manager of money-market mutual funds, said there is growing agreement among company leaders and regulators to limit any new rules for the products to those eligible to buy corporate debt.

The sudden slowdown in U.S. inflation has left Treasuries at the cheapest levels in almost two years, aiding the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tamp down long-term borrowing costs while the economy improves.

The two Monday morning sessions at the Bank Insurance & Securities Association’s annual conference were billed as “Market Perspectives” and they lived up to the name.

Investors injected roughly $10.8 billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the week.

If there was a theme to the opening sessions of the Bank Insurance & Securities Association’s annual conference in Florida on Sunday, it could be characterized as moderation.

The SEC and the IRS have met to discuss tax implications if money-market mutual funds were to adopt a floating share price, two people familiar with the talks said.

Gone are the glorious higher-yielding days of 2011.

For the week ended Feb. 27, investors pulled an estimated $1.13 billion from U.S. stock mutual funds, giving the funds their first weekly outflow this year.

At the end of 2012, investors had a combined average balance of $225,600 in their workplace retirement plans and IRA accounts.

Should mutual funds be backing off on holdings in gun and armament makers?

The taxable municipal bond market is attracting buyers as the tax-exempt municipal bond market and other taxable asset classes look expensive.