Investments

On May 8, 2012, Forward rebranded and revamped its Website.

Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC today unveiled its maiden exchange traded fund

The Hartford is expanding its defined contribution platform with a trio of new managers and a slew of funds for retirement plan sponsors and participants.

Henry Berghoef is stepping down as co-manager of the Oakmark Select Fund (OAKLX) and will retire from Harris Associates L.P., the fund's advisor, effective July 31.

NYSE Euronext said its trading in futures and options worldwide was up 9.0% in April, compared to first quarter levels. European stocks were up 17.8%, but U.S. stocks down 3.6%.

Fifty-one percent of Gen Y investors agree that investment products are overly complex, more than the 40% average for the survey and older age groups.

Denver-based Janus Capital Group Inc. has made two senior-level hires to beef up its client relations team.

Milwaukee, W.I.-based Baird has launched the Baird Small Cap Value Fund, managed by Michelle Stevens.

San Francisco-based Forward Management is once again embarking on an alternative roadshow with a group of alternative mutual funds in hopes of educating advisors on the benefits of alternative investing and, ultimately, winning business.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 29.74 points to finish at 13,008.53 Monday while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 1.42 points and 0.48 points, respectively.

On May 7, 2012, On the one year anniversary of its inception, the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV) has grown to $1.5 billion in assets under management, according to Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC.

On May 7, 2012. Baird unveiled a small cap mutual fund.

On May 7, 2012, Denver-based Janus Capital Group Inc. made two senior-level hires to beef up its client relations team.

On May 7, 2012, a new survey says investment products are "overly complex," and investors are feeling "overwhelmed" by the slew investment choices available to them.

On May 7, 2012, Morgan Stanley announced that it will reorg its Frontier Markets Fund into an open-end offering.

The big guns are now squaring off in one of the tiniest slices of the fund business.

BX Options will provide “an inexpensive and easy connection” for retail customers wanting to trade in options at high speed. Nasdaq already operates two high-speed options exchanges, Nasdaq OMX PHLX and Nasdaq Options Market.

The April numbers for stock trading, globally, aren't in yet. The hottest big market? BM&F BOVESPA, up less than 1%, year over year, through the end of March.

Integrity Viking Funds has launched the Integrity Dividend Harvest Fund, designed to offer investors a stable source of income and the potential for capital appreciation via a portfolio focusing on dividend-paying stocks of companies that have a history of raising their dividends.

Volume for the municipal market continues to tick down while investor demand for tax-exempt paper remains robust.