Broadridge Financial Solutions has acquired Access Data Corp. to expand its offerings to the mutual fund industry, specifically Access Data’s unique data aggregation and data management solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With assets so vastly depleted, many hedge funds are likely to merge, an asset management executive told a recent gathering of hedge fund executives at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference.

Bank of America is selling a 5.8% stake worth about $7 billion in China Construction Bank to help raise a $34 billion capital gap found by the stress test, the Charlotte Observer reports. This amounts to roughly one-third of its current 17% stake in the Chinese lender.

UMB Fund Services, a subsidiary of UMB Financial Co., the listed, Missouri-based multi-bank holding company, added to its holdings JD Clark & Co., an alternative investment firm, in an all-cash deal.

An employee-led buyout of Neuberger Berman Group has been completed, creating what the firm calls “one of the world's biggest independent asset managers.” Neuberger, originally founded in 1939, has approximately $158 billion in assets under management. The New York-based firm is now majority owned by a group of employees, consisting of portfolio managers and senior professionals, with Lehman Brothers Holdings, the previous owner, still retaining the remainder.

Morningstar is acquiring the equity research and data business of Computerized Portfolio Management Services of Toronto for C$16.1 million. The companies expect to complete the sale in the second quarter.

UBS is reportedly considering selling its hedge fund unit to management, according to a Swiss newspaper, Neue Zuercher Zeitung, and analysts believe the unit, which has $39 billion in assets under management, could fetch $1 billion.

Private equity may not play a prominent role as it relates to buying up toxic assets, but sponsors are actively seeking the money-making operations of various banking institutions. The latest to dive into the fray was CVC Capital Partners, which acquired the iShares exchange-traded-funds business of Barclays Global Investors.

The first quarter was lackluster for financial services mergers and acquisitions, with only 37 deals, compared with 57 in the first quarter of 2008, Jefferies Putnam Lovell reported.

One shift in distribution strategy the financial crisis has caused, which fund sales directors should take note of, is that banks are looking far more attractive to a variety of advisers and more are hiring top talent.

As mutual fund assets continue to decline and investors migrate to low-cost products, fund companies are struggling to make management fees stretch even farther.

While most mutual fund companies struggled in 2008, John Hancock Funds finished the year in solid standing, buoyed by a strong first half and careful strategic planning. President and CEO Keith Hartstein recently spoke with Money Management Executive's John Morgan about the key areas that drove Hancock's record $8.5 billion in sales, some regulations he would like to see changed and his outlook for the rest of 2009 and beyond.

CVC Capital Partners of Britain is in exclusive talks with Barclays to purchase its iShares exchange-traded fund unit for more than $4 billion.

Bank of America is merging its premier banking into Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, and as a result, several hundred people will lose their jobs.

Hennessy Advisors has acquired the Tamarack Large Cap Growth Fund and the Tamarack Value Fund, which hold $158 million in assets between them. Voyageur Asset Management, a division of RBC Asset Management, was the investment advisor before.

Certainly, the pace of mergers and acquisitions has slowed in the face of the weak economy, but large financial advisory firms are finding great bargains on small firms, which have become more interested in selling their company, Dow Jones reports.

In what would be a tremendous upset in the mutual fund industry, Barclays is shopping its iShares exchange-traded fund unit.

Integrity Mutual Funds has sold its mutual fund division to the employee-owned Corridor Investors and Viking Fund Management.

Benefits consulting firms Mercer and Callan Associates are creating a mega investment consulting shop, as the two have announced plans to merge their operations.

As the global financial landscape continues to reshape, mergers and acquisitions this year will be led by those firms seeking capital or those that have capital in hand to put to work, according to Jefferies Putnam Lovell.