Investments

On April 16, 2012, Federated Investors, Inc. has completed its purchase of the London-based liquidity and fixed-income product manager Prime Rate Capital Management.

Patrick Morris is a veteran hedge fund manager who has come in from the cold.

Some firms grow organically, pumping out funds. Then, they hire reps and distributors to market and sell their offerings.

Minneapolis-based Whitebox Advisors, the $2.3 billion asset management firm founded by Andrew Redleaf, is making a concerted push into the Registered Investment Advisor channel with the help of third-party marketing firm Havener Capital Partners LLC.

Last year was a challenging year for mergers and acquisitions between financial services firms, according to PricewaterhouseCooper's latest M&A insights report.

On April 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former chief financial officer of optionsXpress and three other officials of the online options and futures brokerage of engaging in “an abusive naked short selling scheme’’ involving billions of dollars of sham trades.

Morningstar reported on April 13, 2012 that money market funds bled $114 billion in the first quarter, the biggest quarterly outflow since the second quarter of 2010.

MME reports on April 13, 2012: After a long, winding legal road, involving no fewer than six federal court decisions, Ameriprise Financial finally won a suit alleging that it had charged excessively high advisor fees.

On April 13, Touchstone revealed its growth plans to MME.

On Aprill 11, a pair of academics from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University released their findings on corporate culture as it relates to funds' performances.

BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, is planning to become an exchange operator.

Nine mutual fund providers can expect to see not only positive, but stronger-than-average investment momentum from investors in 2012, according to findings in the 2012 Investor Brandscape, an annual report released earlier this month by Cogent Research.

On April 12, Cogent named nine fund firms that were most likely to gain business from affluent investors.

On April 11, the ICI said investors yanked $4.7 billion from stock mutual funds.

On April 12, BlackRock revealed plans to become an exchange operator.

A day after snapping a five-session losing streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied up another 181.19 points Thursday to close at 12,986.58.

On April 12, 2012, Janus Capital Group asked its shareholders to vote in favor of a new chief executive officer compensation plan that will cap CEO pay at $10 million, tie it directly to year-over-year change in operating income and comprise it with 40% cash and 60% long-term incentives.

Advisors looking to diversify client portfolios into international and emerging markets investments should take a close look at Latin America, says Heiner Skaliks, portfolio manager of the Strategic Latin America Fund.

On April 12, 2012, J.P. Morgan announced that it had been appointed by PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC), to offer two PIMCO U.S.-registered exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the international segment of the Mexican Stock Exchange, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV).

On April 12, 2012, AllianceBernstein reported that preliminary assets under management dipped 1.2%, to $419 billion, at the end of March compared to the previous month.