Mutual funds

Loomis Sayles has launched the Loomis Sayles Absolute Strategies Bond Fund, which Natixis Global Advisors will distribute in the U.K. and Europe.

The fund will invest in money market and investment-grade debt.

Tax-exempt money market funds saw modest inflows of $639.9 million in the week ended March 7, increasing total net assets to $323.67 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The fund will invest in money market and investment-grade debt.

The campaign showcases three of the firm’s top-performing funds.

Whether they call it "aggressive recruiting" or poaching, financial services companies across the board are predicting the practice will intensify in the coming year, forcing many of them to sweeten their offers and actively seek out skilled professionals both within and outside the industry.

The dispersion of performance between best and worst performers narrows.

Equity funds see inflows of $2.53 billion, down from $6.42 billion the week before.

Transamerica Asset Management, having completed its adoption of the TS&W International Equity Portfolio, has re-introduced the fund as the Transamerica TS&W International Equity Fund.

Harbor Funds has launched the Harbor Flexible Capital Fund, managed by Marsico Capital Management.

Many of your clients are still shaking on the sidelines, which is typical behavior for small investors in prior post-recession bull markets. One investment manager has a possible solution for getting them back into the market.

Forward Management LLC has just introduced an alternative-strategy mutual fund, and the company's chief executive officer predicts demand for such funds will help fuel a huge leap in the firm's assets.

NEW YORK-Traders feel more optimistic about the stock market than they did six months ago, said Kelli Keough, vice president of active trading at Charles Schwab, at a breakfast briefing Wednesday, to announce the launch of the firm’s new platform for active traders.

Factor Advisors has launched five leverage exchange-traded funds that hold both a bull and a bear position. The initial FactorShares ETFs combine holdings in the S&P 500 Index, U.S. Treasury bonds, gold, oil and the U.S. dollar.

Equity funds net $6.42 billion, with the bulk going to domestic stock funds.

GE Asset Management has completed its appointment of Highland Funds Asset Management as investment advisor for the GE Funds. GE will serve as sub-advisor to all of the funds except the GE Small-Cap Equity Fund, which uses other third-party sub-advisors.

Putnam Investments announced Tuesday that it is developing an absolute return fund for use in variable annuities and other variable insurance products.

67% are overweight the asset class, according to the BoA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers.

UMB Healthcare Services announced it has seen a significant increase in the number of health spending accounts and expects even more in 2011.

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