Investments

BOSTON-Understanding what makes a good manager can make or break a fund firm in terms of getting its products distributed or dropped.

Callan Associates has added Dana Brown to its Fund Sponsor Consulting group as senior vice president.

Socially responsible shop Calvert Investments has added Darryl Keeton as director of internal sales, responsible for internal-external sales team partnerships and developing the firm’s internal sales team.

Last week, shareholders of $253 million Morgan Stanley Mid Cap Growth Fund approved a move to transfer the fund’s assets to the Mid Cap Growth Portfolio in exchange for shares of Mid Cap Growth, according to a Securities and Exchange filing.

QuantShares is in the process of shelving a trio of exchange-traded funds.

OppenheimerFunds has launched the CEO Advisor Institute, which combines business management, personal and professional development content and investment thought leadership for advisors.

Sector ETFs have grown 49% at Charles Schwab over the past year—the firm’s fastest growing asset category, according to a 3Q ETF snapshot Schwab officials discussed on a conference call on Friday.

Facing a growing demographic of Americans who likely have not saved enough for retirement, BlackRock launched The BlackRock Retirement Center, a new digital retirement platform that offers individuals access to resources, tools and insights about their pending retirement.

The move by Vanguard, the nation's third largest manager of ETFs, to change the benchmark on 22 of its index funds and ETFs earlier this month reverberated throughout the indexing industry, placing it squarely on the battlefield as the pricing war between two of the biggest ETF makers rages on.

There are thousands of hedge funds competing in the marketplace. They come in all shapes and sizes, but all too often they approach investors with the same thesis.

Total money market mutual fund assets increased by $5.84 billion to $2.568 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, October 17, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows for the 27th consecutive week. Funds that report their flows weekly recorded inflows of $621 million for the week ended Oct. 17.

Total assets in registered alternative mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are projected to reach $330 billion by year-end 2012—nearly double the $169 billion of assets in 2007. If the industry can raise advisors’ and clients’ comfort level with liquid alternatives, that figure could virtually double again, to $650 billion in 2017, according to a new study by Financial Research Corporation (FRC).

Boston-Determining which asset classes and markets are currently attracting the most investor attention can be a daunting task for asset managers.

Since Hatteras Funds acquired the Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund in 2009 from AIP Mutual Funds, the fund family has grown to $700 million in assets under management.

The move by Vanguard, the nation's third largest manager of ETFs, to change the benchmark on 22 of its index funds and ETFs earlier this month reverberated throughout the indexing industry, placing it squarely on the battlefield as the pricing war between two of the biggest ETF makers rages on.

Total money market mutual fund assets increased by $5.84 billion to $2.568 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, October 17, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

OppenheimerFunds is prepping a diversified alternative fund that will bet on its own offerings.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has promoted Keith Glenfield to head of the firm’s Alternative Investments Group, as the firm seeks to expand its growth when it comes to hedge funds, private equity and other alternative investments.

Morningstar’s fund analysts doled out two Gold ratings in the past week to funds managed by Franklin Templeton Investments and Aston Funds.