Mutual funds

Clients who turned 70 1/2 last year need to take their first required minimum distribution by April 1 or face a tax of 50%; Plus, reducing fees is the best way to boost investment returns.

The time has come to create the position of chief data officer to manage the tidal wave of data-based regulations and reporting and implement a concrete data strategy - both to meet requirements but also more effectively make investment decisions and streamline back-, middle- and front-office operations.

Scott Mather, who replaced Bill Gross as one of the portfolio managers of the Pimco Total Return Fund, has been buying government-backed bonds, helping boost its total mortgage allocation to 30% on Jan. 31 from 20% in September.

ETFs continue to be dominated by three big players: BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard Group, and State Street, which collectively control 82% of the roughly $2 trillion invested in ETFs.

A study by S&P Dow Jones Indices -- which clearly has a horse in the race -- says clients will profit more from buying a fund tracking the S&P SmallCap 600 index than one tracking the Russell 2000.

Advisors have gotten better at evaluating target date funds, says James Lauder, CEO of Global Index Advisors. But it remains difficult, he adds, because a uniform benchmark approach toward target date funds isn't available.

According to a Fundstrat Global Advisors survey of 3,265 funds, more than half posted gains that exceeded benchmark indexes in 2015 through March 6, for their best start to a year since 2012.

The total amount of outstanding municipal securities and loans in the market rose 0.6% to $3.65 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year, as U.S. bank muni holdings increased 2.5% and mutual fund muni holdings rose to a record high $658 billion.

Instead of a broad stock index, should advisors consider ETFs weighted by dividend payments?

Even after defaults, high-yield bonds have earned above-market returns.

As the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates, exchange-traded funds designed to protect bond portfolios from the fallout are likely to see big inflows.

This week's highlights includes how competition is forcing ETF providers to cut fees on products; research on how corporate bond ETFs can help institutional investors manage investment flows; and Chinese demand for portfolio managers.

WisdomTree Investments has gained 33% this year, driven by the success of two exchange-traded funds that let investors buy European and Japanese stocks while avoiding the decline in the currencies.

For the third consecutive year in 2014, JPMorgan attracted more net new money to its actively managed equity funds than any of its U.S. mutual fund competitors. In a year in which larger rivals such as Fidelity and American Funds suffered redemptions from active stock funds, it gained $18.3 billion.

Silicon Valley idealists, Robinhood's founders insist that users come first and that their startup will focus on generating a profit later. But, when pressed, they say they make money by gleaning some of the interest on cash held in customer accounts and soon will charge users to borrow to make trades.

MainStay Marketfield was supplanted as the largest alternative mutual fund after assets dropped to $7.3 billion as of Feb. 28 from more than $21 billion a year earlier, according to data from Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. The $8.1 billion Gateway Fund now holds the distinction.

Client behaviors, preferences and expectations have undergone some big changes. Old ways of engaging with prospects and clients fall flat in this new world. That's why reinventing their client engagement models - and the supporting business processes - must be a high priority for asset management and wealth advisory firms.

Many investors traditionally bought high and sold low, losing out on market averages. But a new Morningstar report shows that the typical investor now is posting returns that are closer to those of mutual funds.

The client redemptions that plagued Bill Gross at his old job have followed him to his new one as well. Gross’s Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund suffered its first month of net withdrawals since he joined, with clients pulling $18.5 million from the fund in February, Morningstar estimated.

Municipal bond sales in the U.S. are set to increase in the next month while the amount of redemptions and maturing debt rises.