Investment strategies

Wall Street wirehouse bulge-bracket firms continue to top the list of sponsors of separately managed accounts for the second quarter of this year, according to a research report just issued by the Money Management Institute and Dover Financial Research.

The number of high-net-worth individuals in the top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas rose 17.5% in 2009, the highest growth rate in the last four years, according to the Capgemini 2010 U.S. Metro Wealth Index.

Despite investor concerns about a global economic recovery, BlackRock’s Bob Doll and Deutsche Bank’s Ben Pace are optimistic.

TD Ameritrade and Vanguard Group have added the Thesis Flexible Fund, an alternative strategies fund, to their respective platforms. Grand Distribution Services of Milwaukee distributes the fund, managed by Thesis Fund Mgmt. of New York. The fund uses hedging strategies and is managed by the Thesis team with Stephen Roseman, Thesis Fund Mgmt. chief executive officer, as senior portfolio manager.

Though world gross domestic product shrank in 2009, high-net-worth individuals managed to almost make up for 2008 losses, according to the Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini 14th annual "World Wealth Report."

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Monday said the creation of a system of monitoring overall risks to the nation's financial industry could take one of eight forms, each of which would be costly.

Chief executives are feeling optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next 12 months for the first time since the second quarter of 2007, with CEOs of private companies with international operations being slightly more optimistic than those that are only domestic.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s battle with Merrill Lynch is heating up as both firms sweeten their recruitment packages.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd Wednesday endorsed a proposal to force banks to spin off their derivatives desks, saying Sen. Blanche Lincoln's primary win this week had increased odds some form of it would be in the final regulatory reform bill.

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. announced Tuesday Clayton G. Deutsch will succeed Timothy L. Vaill as chief executive officer and president on July 31.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a concept release on proxy firms and their OBO/NOBO (“non-objecting beneficial owners”) systems, Chairman Mary Schapiro recently told the Business Roundtable. The SEC aims to revise the proxy access rule by 2011.

The battle between Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch is heating up as both firms sweeten their recruitment packages, recruiters say.

Morgan Stanley denied the widely circulated news report Tuesday morning that it planned to cut 300 branches and 1,200 jobs.

WASHINGTON — With lawmakers intent on sending a final regulatory reform bill to President Obama by July 4, much of the legwork is already happening behind the scenes on how to tackle a host of unresolved issues, including a proposed swaps ban, a stringent capital requirement, interchange fee regulation and a consumer protection agency.

Vercie Lark has joined DST Systems as chief information officer, overseeing the company’s enterprise information technology and data center operations.

LPL, the largest independent broke/-dealer, filed S-1 forms with the Securities Exchange Commission Friday to become a public corporation.

Payden & Rygel announced Wednesday with a WSJ tombstone advertisement that it has opened its first office on the East Coast, selecting Boston’s Financial District.

BALTIMORE—The uncertainty and confusion around the fiduciary standard has jolted the financial services industry leading hundreds to pack the rooms at FINRA’s annual conference in Baltimore.

First Republic Bank is hiring in a bid to expand its wealth management operation.

After the so-called flash crash on May 6, and leading up to the $1 trillion debt bailout extended to Greece, the pros at Moss Adams knew how to react. They largely did nothing. There was no dumping of equities across the board. They did not pull up stakes and hunker down in cash positions.