Mutual funds

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.

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. The timing is what makes this tool potentially troubling for established mutual fund and ETF companies. Combined with an overall mistrust of the financial industry and a general populist empowerment (social media, anyone?), it could become the next disruptive change.

Southern California-based Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors has another notch on its belt.

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.

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. will pay $39 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of women employees at its Merrill Lynch unit, according to court filings.

Bloomberg -- Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said there’s almost no chance of another financial crisis like the one that endangered his firm five years ago.

Help wanted: Must have proven leadership ability, strong sales skills and big ideas.

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.

The country’s 20th-largest independent broker has a new name and a new pitch to independent advisors.

FINRA is scaling back on "supersized" fines.

Bloomberg -- A year ago, when opposition from the asset-management industry killed her plan to make money-market mutual funds safer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro looked to Timothy Geithner, then the Treasury Secretary, to tackle “one of the pieces of unfinished business from the financial crisis.”