Investments

Putnam Investments today named Scott C. Sipple as head of investment product management and development, responsible for overseeing the firm’s equity, fixed income and global asset allocation product management and development teams.

High-yield bonds may sound risky, but they have some advantages in the current market environment, according to a BlackRock report.

More than half of those surveyed have investable assets of less than $25,000.

M&T Bank and Wilmington Trust have reorganized the MTB Group of Funds and Wilmington Funds into one fund family one year after their merger and two months after M&T bank revealed plans to merge its brand its funds with the Wilmington moniker.

Pension fund managers should consider managing for a total outcome rather than focusing on the returns of individual strategies or asset classes to respond to the volatility and risk now plaguing their plans, according to a paper recently released by State Street Global Advisors.

Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, said the SEC has “pre-judged” the results of the 2010 round of reforms to money market mutual funds. And that a second round will undermine funds altogether.

BlackRock is looking to do some good while doing well at the same time with its latest values-based exchange-traded fund focusing on human rights.

Van Eck Global has filed for permission from the SEC to create exchange-traded fund share classes of at least one of its five mutual funds.

Although defined contribution fund managers pay lip service to global investment opportunities, many DC plans actually have a “home bias” in their investments and are severely underweighted in their overseas exposure, according to a paper released by OppenheimerFunds, Inc.

The Vanguard Group, Inc. has doubled its sales force, to 220 staffers, serving financial advisors in an initiative to promote its exchange traded-fund products.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37.69 points to finish at 12,959.71 Monday while the Nasdaq lost 4.68 points to close at 2,983.66 while the S&P 500 inched up 0.22 points.

The Vanguard Group, Inc. has doubled its sales force, to 220 staffers, serving financial advisors in an initiative to promote its exchange traded-fund products.

Franklin Templeton Investments has unveiled an iPad app for its advisors and investors to access fund information and portfolio manager perspectives.

Although many defined contribution fund managers pay lip service to global investment opportunities, many DC plans actually have a “home bias” in their investments and are severely underweighted in their overseas exposure, according to a paper released by OppenheimerFunds, Inc.

Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, said Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has “pre-judged” the results of the 2010 round of reforms to money market mutual funds.

Pension fund managers should consider managing for a total outcome rather than focusing on the returns of individual strategies or asset classes to respond to the volatility and risk now plaguing their plans, according to a paper recently released by State Street Global Advisors.

Van Eck Global has filed for permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create exchange-traded fund share classes of at least one of its five mutual funds.

Annuity sales top $231 billion in 2011, driven by robust sales of variable annuities.

BlackRock is looking to do some good while doing well at the same time with its latest values-based exchange-traded fund focusing on human rights.

ETFs have seen rapid adoption by investors and advisors in recent years, but while the products themselves are known for their liquidity and transparency, what’s less understood is the tax bite some may deliver at the end of each year. With this in mind, Financial Planning spoke with Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ, to talk taxes and ETFs.