Mutual funds

Investors steered $1.43 billion into stock mutual funds during the week ended Wednesday, Jan. 11, breaking a near nine-month spell of investor redemptions that totaled more than $172 billion, according to the latest statistics from the Investment Company Institute.

Investors steered $1.43 billion into stock mutual funds during the week ended Wednesday, Jan. 11, breaking a near nine-month spell of investor redemptions that totaled more than $172 billion, according to the latest statistics from the Investment Company Institute.

The SEC has charged an investment advisory arm of UBS with overstating the prices of securities in three mutual funds, some times by more than 100%.

Retail investors in municipal bonds got whipsawed in 2011.

The number of listed exchange-traded funds grew 20.6% in 2011 and the number of listed exchange-traded notes grew 53.8%, according to U.S. figures developed by the Exchange-Traded Fund Association.

The world's largest asset management firm will be the first to list securities on a BATS Global Markets electronic venue that now competes for listings on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market. BlackRock will list eight single-country ETFs with BATS. Based on MSCI Indexes, the ETFs will cover: Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, Norway and the U.K. The Norway fund will start trading Jan. 24 and the other funds soon after.

Drum roll, please.

Investors worldwide pulled $171 billion out of mutual funds in the third quarter of 2011, according to statistics released late Thursday by the Investment Company Institute.

Investors worldwide pulled $171 billion out of mutual funds in the third quarter of 2011, according to statistics released late Thursday by the Investment Company Institute.

The world's largest asset management firm will be the first company to list securities on a BATS Global Markets electronic venue that now competes for listings on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market.

Drum roll, please.

When it comes to bond funds — or any mutual funds — past performance is not the best way to analyze them. Instead, S&P Capital IQ Analyst Todd Rosenbluth suggests investors should consider the credit risk of the underlying bonds, as well as a fund’s duration, i.e. price sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

The fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets in a diverse equity portfolio, with a focus on larger companies with market capitalizations equal to or more than $1 billion.

PIMCO is continuing to build out its active equities platform with the launch of two new funds: the Dividend and Income Builder Fund and the EqS Dividend Fund.

When it comes to bond funds — or any mutual funds — past performance is not the best way to analyze them. Instead, S&P Capital IQ analyst Todd Rosenbluth suggests investors should consider the credit risk of the underlying bonds, as well as a fund’s duration.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards -- focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

Investors pulled more than $125 billion from mutual funds that invest long-term in stocks last year, according to the latest data released by the Investment Company Institute. Of that, $5.2 billion got pulled in the week leading up to New Year's Eve.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards-focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

William Polk Carey, founder of investment management firm W.P. Carey & Co., died on Jan. 2 at age 81, the company announced.

Putnam Investments is laying off 78 employees, or 4.4% of its workforce. The layoffs, primarily in operations, follow a 3% decline in assets under management, from $121 billion in 2010, to $117 billion in 2011.