A focus on market volatility has become a driving force behind the Direxion/Wilshire Dynamic Fund (DXDWX), according to portfolio manager Cleo Chang.
More than twice the number of target date funds have liquidated this year than in all of 2008, indicating how difficult it is for asset managers unaffiliated with 401(k) record keepers to build assets in such funds.
Around 70% of equity mutual funds increased their expense ratios during the worst of the financial crisis, according to a study released today by Lipper Inc.
Exchange-traded-fund providers in the coming year will have to focus on making sure financial advisers understand their products — and how to use them in client portfolios — as they anticipate increased scrutiny from regulators and the media, according to participants in today's ETF round table at InvestmentNews' New York offices.
The federal courts should resolve the question of whether mutual funds are charging too much in fees, the Supreme Court says.
BrightScope, a San Diego, Calif.-based 401(k) data and analytics firm, announced on Monday a partnership with Target Date Analytics LLC to launch the BrightScope On Target Index. Effective today, plan sponsors and advisers who sign up to use BrightScope's online tools to compare their plans' performance to others will now also be able to benchmark the target date funds within their plans.
On the day before it is set to roll out its first set of exchange-traded funds, The Charles Schwab Corp. announced a bold move today: the funds will be made available commission-free for clients with Schwab accounts.
The Securities and Exchange Commission would be instructed to study whether pre-sale disclosures should be required for all products sold to retail investors under a provision of financial services regulatory-reform legislation likely to be approved this week by the House Financial Services Committee.
Just weeks after launching its first commodities exchange-traded fund, a unit of Jefferies & Co. Inc. last week launched two similar ETFs: one focused on agriculture and another on industrial metals.
Touchstone Investments is looking to adopt funds to fill out its product lineup.
The love affair financial advisers have enjoyed with American Funds has cooled.
There have already been more than three times the number of target date fund liquidations so far this year than there were in all of 2008. Moreover, experts predict that trend to increase as smaller fund managers are finding it nearly impossible to gain traction in the market.
With the economy in recovery mode, Tim Palmer, a senior portfolio manager with First American Funds, has zeroed in on the financial sector's high-grade bonds.
Just weeks after launching its first commodities exchange-traded fund, a unit of Jefferies & Co. Inc. today launched two similar ETFs: one focused on agriculture and another on industrial metals.
The tiny Philadelphia Fund (PHILX), which traces its roots to 1923 and is one of the oldest mutual funds, will be merged out of existence next month.
New opportunities for insurers and asset managers are on the horizon as they seek a way to put a guaranteed wrapper around target date funds, according to an insurance company executive.
Mutual funds would be subject to tougher disclosure rules than other financial products if legislation currently being debated in Congress is passed.
Although the financial services industry has seen a bit of a recovery, the market for financial advisers may still experience a contraction, according to an AlixPartners LLP survey.
John Hancock Funds LLC is aiming to make an acquisition in the mutual fund industry, but for now, it is continuing its strategy of adopting funds, according to Keith Hartstein, its top executive.
