Investments

On June 29, 2012, Education and healthcare retirement plans are using more target date funds and Roth features in their plans, according to the latest 403(b) plan sponsor survey from the Plan Sponsor Council of America.

On June 29, 2012, Charles Schwab yesterday rolled out the first version of the new Schwab Advisor Center app for the iPhone for independent investment advisors who custody assets with Schwab Advisor Services.

Assets of all exchange-traded funds fell in May by $71.42 billion, or 6% to $1.116 trillion, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

Pioneer Investments has made a series of new hires and promotions that are part of its plan to increase its U.S. retail sales team by approximately 25% in 2012.

Tax-exempt funds continued to see negative flows as $1.12 billion fled the funds and total net assets settled at $270.27 billion in the week ended June 25, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

An uninspiring week of frozen yields in the municipal bond market could not put a stop to the inflows pouring into muni bond mutual funds. Muni bond funds saw $625 million of inflows from funds that report their flows weekly for the week ended June 27, compared with net inflows of $555 million the week ended June 20.

New York Life says its Guaranteed Future Income Annuity product has garnered more than $500 million in premiums in less than a year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 24.75 points Thursday to close at 12,602.26 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 trimmed 25.83 points and 2.81 points, respectively.

On June 28, 2012, Los Angeles-based TCW has hired David Loevinger as managing director and sovereign analyst in the Emerging Markets Group.

On June 28, 2012, Pioneer Investments has made a series of new hires and promotions that are part of its plan to increase its U.S. retail sales team by approximately 25% in 2012.

On June 28, 2012, Assets of all exchange-traded funds fell in May by $71.42 billion, or 6% to $1.116 trillion, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

On June 28, 2012, The $387 million, 4-Star Buffalo Science and Technology Fund (BUFTX) will be renamed the Buffalo Discovery Fund effective June 29.

As of March 31, U.S. retirement assets totaled $18.9 trillion, up 6.3% from $17.8 trillion in the previous quarter.

New York-based American Independence Financial Services, LLC announced it will become principal portfolio manager for its Large Cap Value strategy, including the American Independence Stock Fund.

PIMCO is ramping up its alternative investment team with a trio of new hires from big-name hedge funds.

As the SEC toys with the possibility of imposing further regulations on money market funds, those close to the $2.6 trillion industry say the revisions are problematic, highly unnecessary, and could seriously undermine the successful operation and existence of the 40-year-old industry.

Trustmark Corp. in Jackson, Miss., announced Wednesday it is selling eight mutual funds with roughly $903 million of assets to Federated Investors of Pittsburgh and its subsidiaries.

PIMCO is ramping up its alternative investment team with a trio of new hires from big-name hedge funds.

As regulators and investors impose increasingly stringent transparency and reporting requirements, asset managers face new challenges in all aspects of data management.

On June 27, 2012, Federated Investors, Inc. has agreed to buy some $903 million in assets, including about $571 million in money market fund assets from Trustmark Investment Advisors, Inc., Trustmark National Bank and Performance Funds Trust.