Mutual funds

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.

The suitability of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds climbed on FINRA’s Enforcement hit list in 2012, according to Partners Deborah Heilizer and Brian Rubin and Associate Andrew McCormick of law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan’s, in their annual review of the regulatory agency’s disciplinary actions.

300 North Capital has added its global macro strategy in the Altegris Macro Strategy Fund.

Pimco’s 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF reported $204.1 million of inflows on April 8, the same day the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF recorded its second-biggest daily redemption since its inception more than five years ago, equal to about $378 million worth of shares, Bloomberg reports.

The Board of Trustees of Dreyfus Stock Funds is putting the brakes on a planned reorganization of the $114 million Dreyfus Small Cap Equity Fund.

OppenheimerFunds has named Mark Hamilton chief investment officer, Asset Allocation, effective April 8.

Virtus Investment Partners reported a 56% organic growth rate in net flows for long-term, open-end mutual funds in Q1 2013.

Janus Capital Group has appointed Enrique Chang chief investment officer of equities and asset allocation.

Ultimus Fund Solutions has added David Carson to its senior management team as Director of Client Strategies to manage the series trust product line

VelocityShares has launched three exchange-traded funds that invest in emerging market depositary receipt. The VelocityShares Emerging Market DR ETF ( EMDR), VelocityShares Emerging Asia DR ETF (ASDR), and VelocityShares Russia Select DR ETF (RUDR) all track BNY Mellon indexes.

Exchange-traded fund flows topped $17.3 billion in March with the fixed income category leading the way to the tune of $5 billion, increasing its year-to-date net flows to $7.1 billion, according to State Street Global Advisor’s latest ETF Snapshot.