Investments

Broker-dealers charged billions of dollars in excessive markups on municipal bond trades from 2005 to 2013, according to a new study.

Most planners do a lot more than select investments. So how do you measure the value of providing financial planning?

Nuveen Investments is currently prepping the Nuveen Global Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund to launch within the next few months, according to a regulatory filing.

San Francisco-based Forward Funds is once again looking to scale down its alternative mutual fund offerings liquidating.

RidgeWorth Investments is beefing up its sales team with the addition of Christopher Danos, Scott Goldberg and Mallory Carr.

John Hancock has agreed to acquire Bellevue, Wash.-based Symetra Investment Services from Symetra Financial Corporation.

Huntington, NY-based Catalyst Capital Advisors has added George Amrhein as Director of Business Development to build upon the firm’s key distribution relationships and manage the continued expansion of its lineup of mutual funds.

Today we say that to be a canary in a coal mine is to be a warning to others. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting analogy then to say Japan is the canary for the U.S. And, fellow coalminers, Japan has stopped chirping.

Santa Fe, N.M.-based Thornburg Investment Management, a $87 billion asset manager, has established an office in London, first overseas office opened by U.S.-based TIM.

Athens, Ga.-based Stadion Money Management’s family of actively managed risk-based and target date retirement funds have found a new home on the Mid Atlantic Trust Company’s platform.

Prudential Real Estate Investors has added Michael Gallagher as a director and portfolio manager to its global real estate securities team.

ETF flows topped $17 billion in May with the large cap category leading the way taking in $5.4 billion in flows, according to State Street Global Advisors’ latest ETF Shapshot.

Beijing, China-Harvest Fund Management is taking a stab at the U.S. market with the launch of New York-based Harvest Krane, which will distribute China and Asia-focused mutual funds to institutional and retail investors in the U.S.

BTS Asset Management announced today the conversion of the BTS Tactical Fixed Income Fund (BTFAX, BTFCX) from a hedge fund to a 1940 Act mutual fund. The Tactical Fixed Income Fund.

Women advisors descended on Dallas for the recent Women Advisors Forum. The day of educational sessions, discussion and networking opportunities featured an array of topics from how to use complex assets for charitable giving to succession planning and what it’s like to start your own business after starting out at a wirehouse.

ETF flows topped $17 billion in May with the large cap category leading the way taking in $5.4 billion in flows, according to State Street Global Advisors’ latest ETF SNAPSHOT: May 2013.

The TCW Group has expanded its distribution efforts in Europe and Asia, with the opening of new TCW offices in Paris and Hong Kong.

Vue Entertainment Ltd. was bought by two Canadian pension-fund managers looking to continue the expansion of one of Europe’s largest cinema operators for 935 million pounds ($1.45 billion).

Walt Bettinger, president and chief executive officer of Charles Schwab & Co., officially joined Twitter last week.

The Driehaus Large Cap Growth Fund (DRLGX) is closing to new investors on June 11 and will liquidate on July 19, according to a regulatory filing.