Mutual funds

The estimated U.S. mutual fund asset flows for July 2013 were released by Morningstar today. Investors added $15.9 billion to long-term mutual funds in July, driven by inflows of $7.9 billion into international-equity funds.

Visium Asset Management announced the launch of the Visium Event Driven Fund (VIDVX). This is the first mutual fund offering for the alternative asset management firm, which was founded in 2005.

Bank of America has launched a campaign around socially responsible investing that is designed to enhance products and services available to a growing segment of clients concerned with value-based investing.

LPL wants its advisors to know that it has heard their complaints and is doing something about them.

Since 2008, investors have sought new investment strategies less affected by market downturns. At the same time, many hedge fund managers who survived the collapse with positive returns are looking to expand their offerings to the retail market. Adding budget cuts and new regulations to the mix creates a recipe for potential problems.

The majority of American workers accept responsibility for financing their own retirement and are relying primarily on their 401(k) to get them there, but many lack the confidence to effectively manage their retirement savings.

Raymond James has added to its Private Client Group (PCG) with a key senior management appointment.

When President Obama unveiled his budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, it represented a wish list.

The bank launched new proprietary ETF portfolios that it says provide exposure to global investment opportunities by leveraging the international perspective of its parent, BNP Paribas.

BLOOMBERG -- The U.S. government urged General Motors Co. (GM) to improve pensions of some Delphi Automotive Plc (DLPH) union retirees while cutting those of salaried workers to help ensure a speedy emergence from a GM bankruptcy, the watchdog of the Troubled Asset Relief Program said.

Merrill Lynch & Co. may be dead, but long live Merrill Lynch. While Bank of America has announced plans to dissolve Merrill Lynch & Co. as soon as the fourth quarter of this year, but the roughly 14,000 advisors operating in its brokerage division shouldn't see a name change.

These are stressful times for the mutual fund industry. An obvious statement, but one authored by a colleague ten years ago. Even more interesting is that the trends cited then are the same concerns that we hear from clients today. So what has changed?

AllianceBernstein L.P and W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. announced yesterday that the two firms have entered into a definitive agreement under which AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm with $444 billion in assets under management, will acquire W.P. Stewart, an equity investment manager that currently manages $2 billion in U.S., Global and EAFE concentrated growth equity strategies for institutional and retail clients, primarily in the U.S. and Europe.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Oppenheimer and Co. $1,425,000 for the sale of unregistered penny stock shares and for failure to provide an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program, which would detect and report suspicious penny stock transactions.

Will LPL Financial be getting into the banking business? While the nation's largest independent broker-dealer says it has no “imminent” plans to own a bank, it now can if it wants to -- thanks to the announcement of a stock distribution by two of the firm’s original private-equity investors.

Bloomberg -- Aides to President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid discussed the process of choosing the next U.S. Federal Reserve chairman in the wake of a letter from some chamber Democrats touting one contender, according to a person familiar with the conversations.

In order to tap into fresh sources of capital, non-U.S. fund managers are looking to the U.S. to distribute investment strategies. This raises many issues: choosing the right vehicles for the job, regulatory considerations, and more.

Bloomberg -- Evercore Partners Inc., the investment bank founded by former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, hired Jewelle Bickford as a partner in its wealth- management unit.

Eileen Rominger, former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management, has decided get back to work after a year-long hiatus.

Fewer RIAs this year are in the mood to sell thanks to stable growth in the markets.