Investments

Here’s one alternative fund that won’t be on advisors’ list this Christmas.

Continuing a blitz of new fund and ETF activity over the past few weeks, BlackRock has filed to launch four more funds, including two multi-asset funds and two short-term bond funds, according to a report by Morningstar.

For the week ended Wednesday, October 17, investors injected $10.6 billion into open-end funds and exchange-traded funds and another $13.1 billion into money market funds, according to data from Lipper.

Franklin Templeton Investments announced the launch of its new online, interactive retirement center for advisors and plans sponsors on Thursday.

Vienna, Va.-based software company Eloqua, known for its marketing software, released Eloqua Asset Management, which it touts as the first-ever platform of marketing software aimed at institutional asset managers, mutual fund wholesalers and marketers in the financial services sector.

Putnam Advisory, a unit of Boston-based Putnam Investments, was charged yesterday by Massachusetts state regulators with deceiving investors who purchased about $3 billion in mortgage-related securities created and sold by Putnam several years ago.

Despite the worldwide market turmoil of recent years, U.S. investors have been boosting their allocation to overseas funds, but need more education from advisors to battle a serious overweight in U.S. stocks, according to a new white paper.

BOSTON - The membership of the National Investment Service Company Association voted to change the trade association's legal name to simply NICSA.

The membership of the fund services industry association Thursday morning named five new directors to its board and Fred Naddaff of Sungard as the board's chairman.

Asset allocation isn’t just about performance, it’s all about the client, advisors said in a panel discussion at the Money Management Institute Fall Solutions conference Thursday.

Morgan Stanley reported on Thursday that its global wealth management business saw it pre-tax income fall to $239 million, down from $356 million one year ago, and net revenue of $3.34 billion, up from $3.23 billion in the third quarter of 2011, as the firm closed its acquisition of the next stake in the Smith Barney joint venture.

In a financial services version of Woodstock 2012, more than a dozen exchange-trade fund providers including iShares, Vanguard and State Street have come together in an attempt to make ETFs as much a part of retail investors’ lexicon as mutual funds.

Think target-date funds are the default choice du jour for define contribution plan sponsors? Think again.

Curian, Putnam Investments and the John Hancock Funds have won top honors in the 10th Annual NOVA Awards, which honor outstanding leadership and achievement in mutual fund operations and marketing.

Riverbridge Partners, which recently agreed to a deal with Northhill Capital, is making a play for the retail space with its new partner.

Could the 2012 holiday shopping season be the best one since the recession? Planners seeking clues to the performance of the U.S. retail sector should consider an industry group’s projection that sales for the November-December time period will increase 4.1% this year.

Registered investment advisors expect to see increased usage of ETFs in client portfolios, while aversion to risk remains high, according to results of Invesco's RIA Market Research Study.

Macroeconomic factors like advances in technology and global population growth, not to mention market volatility and investor fear, are accelerating the need for financial advice said Marty Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco, at the Money Management Institute 2012 Fall Solutions Conference on Wednesday.

Outflows from U.S. stock funds decelerated last week to $2.3 billion; bonds more than make up the loss.

Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York global financial services firm, announced Wednesday it hired Theresa Mozzocci as head of marketing and sales for its investment advisory arm.