Mutual funds

State Street Global Advisors on Thursday began trading the SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term High Yield Bond ETF on the NYSE Arca. The new SPDR ETF offers investors access to high yield corporate bonds with short durations. Its annual expense ratio is 40 basis points.

Milwaukee, Wis.-based UMB Fund Services, Inc. today revealed a new milestone for its Investment Managers Series Trust, which has surpassed the $2 billion mark in net assets.

Prudential Investments has launched a long-term growth equity fund that invests in companies from a broad range of countries, including emerging markets.

Retirement executives at Fidelity Investments today have a few billion reasons to smile. That’s because the plan provider has renewed its contract with Raytheon Company, a technology and defense company, through 2017. The two companies have a 20-year relationship that began in 1992.

Russell Investments has launched two exchange-traded funds focusing on high dividend yield investments in American companies.

Nearly 54% of mutual funds taking part in a Bonaire Software Solutions study on distributor rebate payments said that tracking and reconciliation is their biggest challenge.

Van Eck Global is stirring up another exchange-traded fund in the form of the Market Vectors Global Chemicals ET, which will bet on U.S. and non-U.S. chemical concerns.

Kenneth Burd has joined Delaware Investments as vice president, head of internal sales, responsible for managing the 15-member internal sales desk, which supports the firm's retail sales efforts. Burd started his position on March 5.

On March 1, Bill Gross, co-founder of the Pacific Investment Management Company, officially crossed the line and fired his opening salvo in the exchange-traded fund business.

Fixed-income funds see the biggest cash inflow.

La Jolla, Calif.-based Altegris is looking to beef up its managed futures mutual fund, dubbed the Altegris Managed Futures Strategy Fund, a fund of funds, by adding two more managers to its stable.

Investment manager Eaton Vance has named Laurie Hylton as chief financial officer and Daniel Cataldo as treasurer. They both replace Robert Whelan, who has left the company.

Nearly 54% of mutual funds taking part in a Bonaire Software Solutions study on distributor rebate payments said that tracking and reconciliation is their biggest challenge.

Kip Meadows, founder and acting chairman of Nottingham Investment Administration which services more than $25 billion in assets for mutual funds and asset managers, shares his thoughts on the shrinking fund administration field and hedge funds' gravitation towards the mutual fund business.

San Francisco, Calif-based Forward Management, LLC today unveiled its latest offering, the Forward Managed Futures Strategy Fund, a systematic, trend-following vehicle that will bet long and short exposure on liquid futures contracts in commodities, equities, bonds and currencies.

So you want to tap into the global markets and find new opportunities for growth?

Kip Meadows is the founder and acting chairman of Nottingham Investment Administration, which services more than $25 billion in assets for mutual funds and asset managers.

Goldman Sachs has reshuffled a number of senior positions in its equities division in response to recent executive departures.

Nearly one out of four pension plan participants invest solely in target-date funds, according to new research released from The Vanguard Group—a six-fold increase over the past five years.

Walt Bettinger, president and chief executive of The Charles Schwab Corporation, has a few reasons to smile today.