Mutual funds

Investors in tax-exempt debt should be cautious about heeding recent reports about the possibility of widespread bankruptcy and default in the municipal market, and stop running away from solid, safe investments because of distorted opinions in the media. That was the advice from top portfolio managers and traders at DWS Investments. Phil Condon, head of muni portfolio management. and Ashton Goodfield, head of trading, recognized the financial hurdles faced by local governments, but stressed that because of the fundamental changes in the municipal landscape, the muni market should not be considered as "homogenous" as it once was. But for analysts to "sensationalize the stress that municipalities are under" sends the wrong message to investors.

Municipal bond mutual fund outflows moderated last week as a nervous market seemed better able to absorb the relentless fund selling.

Vanguard on Friday launched the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, which tracks the MSCI All Country World ex-USA Investable Market Index.

State Street Global Advisors on Thursday has launched three new SPDR exchange-traded funds: the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF, the SPDR S&P Telecom ETF and the SPDR S&P Healthcare Equipment ETF.

New hedge-fund like vehicle will trade frequently

Five other world-class asset managers, including PIMCO and Wellington, are sub-advising the fund along with Hancock.

Large capitalization stocks are likely to outperform small cap stocks over the next decade, according to BNY Mellon Beta Management.On Tuesday BNY Mellon Beta Management, a BNY Mellon Asset Management business that facilitates rebalancing programs and synthetic asset class exposure through the use of futures, swaps, index funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced that it expects better returns and lower transaction costs for large caps over the medium to long term.

Global X has already contracted to develop new ETFs based on the indexes.

Russell Investments has launched two new mega-cap emerging markets indexes, the Russell Emerging Markets Mega Cap Growth Index and the Russell Emerging Markets Mega Cap Value Index. Global X Funds has already contracted to launch two exchange-traded funds based on the indexes.

Fewer wealthy Americans are using mutual funds, and among those investors who continue to use these investment products, allocations are down significantly.

The fund combines hedge and private equity approaches.

Investors established a new record for withdrawals from municipal bond mutual funds last week as headline risk continued to chase people from state and local government debt funds.

Charles Schwab has launched the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF and Schwab U.S. REIT ETF, bringing Schwab’s total fixed income and equity ETF offerings to a total of 13.

Asset managers can use the online resource when preparing a fund launch or moving a fund to a new service provider.

Mutual funds have emerged as the dominant source of selling pressure for state and local government paper in the new year as investors keep pulling out their money, forcing fund complexes to sell bonds into an already jittery market.

For equity funds, 2010 was a solid year, with the average fund rising 16.57% and 98% of all equity funds in positive territory, according to Lipper. Sector equity funds rose 19.02%, U.S. domestic equity funds rose 17.14%, world equity funds were up 13.67% and mixed asset funds delivered 12.02%.

Matt Fink, former president of the Investment Company Institute, covers this and other frequently asked questions about the industry in the new edition of his book, “The Rise of Mutual Funds: An Insider’s View.”

Matt Fink was with the Investment Company Institute from 1971 to 2004 and served as its president from 1991 to 2004. He is the author of a history of mutual funds, “The Rise of Mutual Funds: An Insider's View,” (Oxford University Press, 2008). A new edition, covering the 2008 financial crisis and its impact on mutual funds, has just been published.

The company indicated in a Thursday SEC filing it is postponing its plans to offer short-, intermediate- and long-term municipal bond index funds.

Assets total $2.796 trillion for the week ended Jan. 12.