Mutual funds

The combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds increased by $486.2 billion, or 4.5%, to $11.267 trillion in September, as investors continued to add to long-term bond funds and pull money out of stock and money market funds, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

Investors pull a net $11.6 billion from stock funds during the month, but assets still rose 9.3% thanks to market appreciation.

If your clients’ eyes glaze over at the mere mention of money markets, remind them of the dark days when these safe investments were suddenly risky.

The funds invest in TIPS and shorter-duration bonds.

Equity fund pull in more than twice as much as the previous week.

USAA has launched two funds that address inflation and interest rate concerns.

The new European Union hedge fund passport rule the European Parliament is soon to vote on, will permit all hedge funds, including those in the U.S., to operate throughout all of Europe’s 27 nations—but it would also subject them to the strict compensation rules.

CMG Capital Management Group has selected American Independence Financial Services to managed the tactical fixed income portion of its absolute return managed accounts and Absolute Return Mutual Fund.

The Hartford’s Canadian fund business is comprised of 18 mutual funds. The deal is expected to close in December.

Outflows among tax-exempt money market funds rose to $2.31 billion in the week ending Oct. 18, causing total net assets to recede to $327.99 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

ETF Securities has launched the ETFS Precious Metals Basket, an exchange-traded fund that holds fixed physical weights of gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Investors with at least $100,000 to invest are sorely in need of guidance on fixed income risk, asset allocation and retirement readiness, MFS Investment Management found in a survey of 613 investors.

Aviva Investors has launched the Aviva Investors Core Aggregate Fixed Income and the Aviva Investors High Yield Bond funds.

Three of the new funds will invest in large-cap stocks.

RiverPark Advisors has launched a new family of no-load open-end mutual funds, three of which will invest in large-cap stocks.

Asset held in exchange-traded funds increased 10.6% in September.

France, Germany and others, meanwhile, are uncomfortable with the powers of the EU’s new securities regulator.

Seeing an increased appetite for munis from individual buyers, Fidelity Investments has ramped up its underwriting capabilities in recent years, saying it wants to give clients quicker access to new product with better prices and more transparency.

Expert investors and analysts have been saying it for years: Economies in the emerging markets have become so sophisticated that the so-called frontier markets are becoming the place to find richer yields.

Eaton Vance Management has launched the Eaton Vance Richard Bernstein Multi-Market Equity Strategy Fund, which will be managed by Richard Bernstein, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of sub-advisor Richard Bernstein Advisors.