Mutual funds

As senior executive vice president of the American Stock Exchange from 1986 to 1993, Riley oversaw derivatives trading and “was the driving force in the development” of the ETFs known as SPDRs.

Mutual funds that buy loans saw $4 billion yanked last month, bringing total outflows for the 12 months ended Jan. 31 $28.7 billion, according to Morningstar data. That’s the biggest withdrawal for any U.S. debt asset class in the period.

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

The International Organization of Securities Commissions said that it will publish a second batch of draft plans on Feb. 20 for identifying funds or particular investing practices that could present systemic risks.

This past week, the industry saw Pimco suffer more redemptions despite the climbing performance of its Total Return Fund, a BlackRock bond ETF receiving a record $2 billion deposit, Virtus Investment Partners announced an agreement to acquire a majority interest in ETF Issuer Solutions, and a report from Cerulli Associates noting that socially responsible investing has become a frequent request of asset managers from institutional clients.

Fidelity Investments, the second-largest U.S. mutual fund company, reported a 29% increase in operating income in 2014, as growth in its retirement business and cost cutting helped offset withdrawals from its actively managed offerings.

Salient Partners, a $21.5 billion investment firm, plans to buy Forward Management to expand its liquid alternatives business, a fast-growing product that offers hedge fund-like strategies to individual investors.

Seeking to bolster its team after co-founder Bill Gross left last year, Pimco announced it hired Joachim Fels as global economic adviser.

Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund attracted an estimated $85.6 million in net new money in January, the lowest amount since Pacific Investment Management’s former investment chief Bill Gross took over as manager in October.

Jerry Murphey recalls trying to apply tactical risk management solutions after the 2001 market shocks. "It was clear that financial markets would continue to move faster than investor expectations and financial advisors would need tactical risk management."

The mounting danger of data breaches and online crime threatens firms with financial disaster unless they become more cyber-resilient, says one cyber security and technology risk expert.

Ballentine Partners is a wealth management firm with roots in an unusual institution: a summer camp.

The industry saw Van Eck Global sponsoring a $3M student fund and scholarship at the USC Marshall School of Business, the flagship liquid alt fund offered by IndexIQ passing the $1 billion assets mark, a survey of 235 hedge fund professionals expressing positive sentiment, and Morningstar naming its fund managers of the year.

The push to make money-market funds safer means the biggest U.S. banks will pay more to borrow while America’s near record-low financing costs go even lower.

With mutual fund assets growing exponentially, more private fund managers are taking advantage and launching retail funds. They might be unfamiliar with the scrutiny faced by traditional mutual funds, especially since Sarbanes-Oxley was passed. There are things to keep in mind when considering the best Sarbanes compliance practices.

Holdings in ETPs backed by silver fell 0.3% last month, after declining 3% in December, while gold holdings jumped 4.1% in January. Retail investors account for 80% of U.S. purchases.

Kevin Carter's passion for emerging markets quickly put him at odds with the available ETF options for investors. Even in the largest offerings from established providers, he says the problem was apparent: investors weren't getting exposure to the innovative companies garnering global attention, such as Baidu, but rather staid, government-owned entities.

Pimco’s biggest mutual fund suffered about $11.6 billion in withdrawals in January, the 21st straight month of redemptions at the investment fund created and formerly run by bond manager Bill Gross.

The ongoing, rapid growth of ETFs begs a question: is it sustainable, or will the market soon find itself in a bubble? A new global report on the ETF industry says there is little to stop its momentum.

DoubleLine Capital, the bond firm co-founded by Jeffrey Gundlach, attracted its biggest monthly subscriptions ever last month after beating peers in 2014.