Investments

The Investment Company Institute has promoted Kathleen Joaquin to the position of Chief Industry Operations Officer, replacing 25-year veteran Donald Boteler, who retired earlier in the month.

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary L. Schapiro told a financial services subcommittee of the House of Representatives that the federal regulator intends to spend $100 million of its $1.6 billion requested budget for fiscal 2013 on information systems and another $50 million on modernizing the EDGAR stock information database and www.sec.gov, its public web site.

Huntington Asset Services, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, has appointed Joseph Rezabek as president of the company. Rezabek hails from Citi Fund Services, where he was managing director and head of North American Fund Services.

The expiration of payroll tax reductions — and the possibility that nothing will be resolved in Washington this year around these and other fiscal issues — could be a drag on growth, says Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has proposed rule changes and interpretive guidance aimed at ensuring that underwriters and dealers comply with an issuer’s instructions to sell bonds to retail investors during retail order periods.

Seoul, Korea-based Mirae Asset Global Investments unveiled its Global Dynamic Bond Fund, which will bet on sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate bonds from issuers in both emerging and developed markets, for U.S. investors.

Matrix Financial Solutions has expanded the functionality of TrueOpen, its core mutual fund trading platform, to address growing demands from retirement plan providers and advisors.

Morningstar, Inc. has launched a new alternative investments center as part of several enhancements to MorningstarAdvisor.com, a free website that provides advisors with practice management information, investment trends, and industry insights.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 203.66 points to close at 12,759.15 Tuesday, resulting in the largest one-day decline in this calendar year.

Symetra Investment Services, Inc., the broker-dealer registered investment advisor arm of Symetra Financial Corporation, has hired John Forrest to serve as director of business development, responsible for managing relationships, development advisors and managing sales.

Banks looking to boost their profits are missing the boat on a big opportunity: marketing investment and insurance products to mass-affluent households.

Morningstar, Inc. has launched a new alternative investments center as part of several enhancements to MorningstarAdvisor.com, a free website that provides advisors with practice management information, investment trends, and industry insights.

Matrix Financial Solutions has expanded the functionality of TrueOpen, its core mutual fund trading platform, to address growing demands from retirement plan providers and advisors.

Seoul, Korea-based Mirae Asset Global Investments today unveiled its Global Dynamic Bond Fund, which will bet on sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate bonds from issuers in both emerging and developed markets, for U.S. investors.

With investors around the globe still nervous about the potential for more stock market volatility ahead, BlackRock chief equity strategist Bob Doll notes that it’s necessary to think globally to understand where markets are headed.

Wasatch Funds has launched what it touts as “one of the few no-load open-end mutual funds focused exclusively on frontier and smaller emerging market countries,” including Africa and Southeast Asia.

Pyxis Capital, formerly known as Highland Funds Asset Management, L.P., has broken away from its parent, Highland Capital Management, L.P., and taken on a new moniker and a new approach to creating alternative mutual funds.

Jackson National Life Insurance Company, a purveyor of variable annuities, is looking to offer its advisors and their retail clients access to alternative investments.

Russell Investments has introduced a series of indexes designed to allow fund managers to control volatility in their portfolios.

A new investment management shop has opened in Palm Beach, Fla., dubbed Crest Investment Partners LLC. The partnership is a subsidiary of Cypress Capital Group, itself a $830 million boutique trust and investment services firm.