Mutual funds

Vanguard said Monday that it cut the expense ratios on several of its bond mutual funds and ETFs in April. These include three of its popular bond ETFs: the Long-Term Bond Index Fund (BLV), the Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund (BIV) and the Short Term Bond Index Fund (BSV). Each fund saw its price tag change from 11 bps to 10 bps.

Unfettered interest in fixed income has persisted, despite the reality that interest rates will rise.

WisdomTree Investments, an ETF sponsor and asset manager, reported net income of $7.9 million for the first quarter of 2013, up seven times from the year ago quarter and 50% from the fourth quarter of 2012.

First Trust Advisors L.P. will launch the First Trust Senior Loan Fund (FTSL), its fourth actively managed ETF, on May 2. The fund will bring the firm’s total number of ETFs to 76.

Fixed-income exchange-traded funds have made big strides in asset gathering over the past five years, rising from $53.7 billion in 2008 to $229.1 billion by March of 2013, according to Lipper.

BMO Global Asset Management has named John Boritzke, managing director, as head of fixed income.

Multistrategy alternative mutual funds experienced strong asset growth of 37.4% in 2012 compared to single strategy at 17%, according to Cerulli’s latest U.S. Monthly Product Trends.

Henderson Global Investors has added a new fund to its repertoire utilizing the credit portfolio team it lifted out from Delaware Investments in February.

Vanguard said Monday that it cut the expense ratios on several of its bond mutual funds and ETFs in April. These include three of its popular bond ETFs: the Long-Term Bond Index Fund (BLV), the Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund (BIV) and the Short Term Bond Index Fund (BSV). Each fund saw its price tag change from 11 bps to 10 bps.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new leader, Mary Jo White, will bring her years of experience as a federal litigator before the fund industry this week as its members try to judge whether she will propose reforms that could cripple the marketplace.

Oppenheimer Funds is set to roll out a new look on May 1. The new imaging reveals a modernized retail brand, which will continue to be known as OppenheimerFunds, and a new institutional brand, OFI Global Asset Management.

iShares has registered a U.S. equities factor-based ETF called the MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF. The fund will add to the company’s lineup of factor-based ETFs that track MSCI Indexes rolled out earlier this month.

Invesco has made some changes to the portfolio management teams of Invesco Dynamic Credit Opportunities Fund (VTA) and Invesco Senior Income Trust (VVR).

Nasdaq OMX Group said it expects the re-launch of its PSX exchange as an exchange-traded fund marketplace to take place in May.

BNY-Mellon won a top ETF industry honor, for the seventh consecutive time. The firm took home the award for 2012 “Best Service Provider – The Americas” at the ninth annual Global ETF Awards.

iShares will close and liquidate the iShares Diversified Alternatives Trust, according to a letter to shareholders.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new leader, Mary Jo White, will bring her years of experience as a federal litigator before the fund industry this week as its members try to judge whether she will propose reforms that could cripple the marketplace.

The boutique purveyors of the mutual fund world have different branding and distribution challenges than their larger asset management counterparts.

San Antonio-based USAA Investments, a provider of mutual funds and insurance products to members of the U.S. military, is currently prepping the USAA Target Retirement 2060 Fund to launch in July 2013.

The MFEA launched a new group within its executive council: the Product Management Council (PMC).