Mutual funds

Memphis, TN-based SouthernSun Asset Management is closing its SouthernSun Small Cap Fund (SSSFX) to new investors on May 17, according to a regulatory filing.

Mutual fund investors rolled some $2.0 billion into equity mutual funds for the week ended April 10, according to Jeff Tjornehoj, Head of Americas Research at Lipper, who said that: “Lest anyone get too excited about the inflows, they were the lightest weekly net sales of this year.”

Money market assets fell $8.9 billion to $2.6 trillion for the week ended April 10, according to Investment Company Institute data.

Northern Trust is touting the rapid growth of its’ defined contribution assets.

Kris Jenner, the former top stock picker at T. Rowe Price Group, has raised more than $100 million for a hedge fund to invest in health-care and biotechnology stocks, Bloomberg reports, citing a person with knowledge of his plans.

Inflows of $57.1 million entered the tax-exempt money market industry in the week ended April 8 and total net assets inched up to $273.12 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Great rotation or not, more money hemorrhaged from municipal bond mutual funds as outflows occurred for the sixth straight week, at $631 million.

Average expense ratios continued their precipitous decline during 2012 much to the delight of mutual fund investors, according to an annual Investment Company Institute report on fund expenses and fees.

Investors poured $16.9 billion into exchange-traded funds in March, bringing the first-quarter total to $53.1 billion, according to data from Morningstar.

ING is embarking on a rebranding voyage. Following an initial public offering, the company will rebrand to Voya Financial.

Horizons ETFs Management (USA), a subsidiary of Seoul, Korea-based Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. has appointed Joe Cunningham as Head of Capital Markets for Horizons USA.

Investors poured a record $246 billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the first quarter, according to industry tracker, Strategic Insight.

Mutual funds gained $8.84 billion for the week ended Wednesday, April 3, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Mary Jo White was sworn in this morning as the 31st Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A quarterly Northern Trust survey of investment managers reveals that they were optimistic about the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2013, buoyed by their positive expectations for housing, jobs and corporate profits in the face of across-the-board federal budget cuts went into effect on March 1.

During the week ended April 3, investors withdrew an estimated $1.83 billion from U.S. equity funds, the most they have pulled from the funds in a single week this year.

Chicago-based Dearborn Partners has launched its first mutual fund, dubbed the Dearborn Partners Rising Dividend Fund (DRDAX, DRDCX and DRDIX).

Direxion has added two new leveraged exchange-traded funds: the Direxion Daily Brazil Bull 3x Shares (BRZU) and Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3x Shares (KORU), to its portfolio.

Putnam Investments has added three new DCIO Investment Specialists to bolster its sales effort in the 401(k) market.

Russell Investments has appointed Andrew Scherer as director of defined contribution, intermediary distribution for the firm’s U.S. advisor-sold business, which sells mutual funds and other multi-asset products to DC recordkeeping platforms, retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan advisors.