Mutual funds

Operating in an environment where we are all expected to do more with less, asset managers increasingly rely on service providers. By constantly reinvesting in their businesses and infrastructure, established providers can easily scale and position asset managers for the future.

Building a successful fund requires a distinguishable brand, an effective marketing strategy, and a commitment to distribution support.

Loomis, Sayles & Company announced that Peter Marber has joined the company as head of emerging markets investments.

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, which is set to receive another $57 billion of deposits from Citigroup Inc. as part of its Smith Barney purchase, plans to accelerate lending to put those funds to use.

Laif Meidell is president of American Wealth Management and a FINRA registered representative with Foothill Securities, a hybrid Reno, Nev.-based RIA firm.

Bank of America has expanded its suite of investing tools for its mass-affluent do-it-yourself customers.

g) – Emerging markets offer good long- term buying opportunities as economies globally improve, Robert Kapito, co-founder and president of BlackRock Inc., said. There is too much short-term thinking in investing and foreign investors should be diversified in order to survive this period of market volatility, Kapito said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Susan Li.

Calamos Investments, a global investment management firm, announced the planned departure of James Boyne, President and Chief Operating Officer, effective September 30, 2013. Until that time, Boyne will act in an advisory role and assist the company in the orderly transition of his duties and responsibilities.

While equity mutual fund investors headed for the doors in droves after getting pummeled during the Great Recession, many 401(k) participants and mutual fund investors have continued to add to their asset allocation funds, which include target-risk, target-date and other mixed-asset funds.

A new study by retirement and investment trends research firm Hearts & Wallets, LLC found that more retirement firms are considering the lifetime value of consumers--currently 55%, up from 43% in 2010--showing an increased focus on younger investors.

The 2008 and 2009 global financial crisis left many investors disappointed with the high volatility and negative performance of their portfolios and leading them to re-evaluate the risk reducing ability of asset allocation.

The 50 largest asset managers accounted for more than US$38 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2012. This is a full US$4 trillion more than the year before, even as the biggest firms in the industry continue to enlarge, according to The Cerulli Report: Global Markets 2013.

Operating in an environment where we are all expected to do more with less, asset managers increasingly rely on service providers.

A new study by retirement and investment trends research firm Hearts & Wallets, LLC found that more retirement firms are considering the lifetime value of consumers-currently 55%, up from 43% in 2010-showing an increased focus on younger investors.

As the mutual fund universe becomes more crowded and the strategies offered to investors become more complex, fund managers are under pressure to further differentiate themselves and their brands from the competition. One way to stand out is to make investor and financial intermediary education a key element of any communications plan to drive brand awareness and asset growth.

Best known as the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and the first to head one of its member firms, Muriel F. "Mickie" Siebert died of complications from cancer on August 24 at the age of 80.

Building a successful fund requires a distinguishable brand, an effective marketing strategy, and a commitment to distribution support.

Options have been used in asset management for several decades, but due to current market conditions asset managers' interest has been renewed in this strategy. With bonds in a bear market and an equity market meandering horizontally, these managers are embracing options as a way to generate income while protecting against the downside.

Growth from both retail and institutional investors has been steady in what is now called ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues.

The "do it yourself" investor crowd is not exactly new. But now it has a newfound source of power. A new tool on the market from Motif Investing makes it easier than ever for individual investors to create their own ETF-like investment funds.