Vanguard Group is preparing to launch its first actively managed small- and mid-cap value stock fund, to be subadvised by Cardinal Capital Management, Sterling Capital Management and Frontier Capital Management.
The Arizona Board of Regents is searching for a consultant to assist in a provider request for proposals for its $1.8 billion Optional Retirement Plan.
Self-funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission is still called for in the new draft financial regulatory reform bill that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) made public last Monday.
Steven Nothern, a former employee of investment advisor Massachusetts Financial Services, has settled a Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading complaint.
Preemptive approaches to deal with Washington forcing money market funds to adopt a floating net asset value are taking shape, including discussion of an industry-owned bank to supply liquidity in the event a crisis run develops.
Invesco has announced internally the new sales structure that will be in place when it combines its Invesco Aim retail fund operations with Van Kampen Investments.
Lord Abbett is telling investors now is the time to diversify out of small-cap funds.
Virtus Investment Partners is bullish on real estate investment trusts and is pushing its three real estate funds with advisors.
AdvisorShares Investments is considering teaming up with WCM Investment Management to launch additional actively managed exchange-traded funds after the debut later this month of the WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF (FA, 12/17), CEO Noah Hamman told FA.
A floating NAV for money market funds will be a front row option in a report the President's Working Group will present soon, a senior Securities and Exchange Commission told attendees at the ICI conference in Phoenix.
ETF Securities will expand its exchange-traded funds lineup into base metals and other commodities and is considering also moving into equities, currencies and fixed income, Fred Jheon, head of product and business development, told FA.
DST Retirement Solutions has hired two new execs and tapped two current employees for chief roles at the firms.
Chris Conkey has been appointed as the chief investment officer, global equities, for investment manager MFC Global.
Principal Financial Group unveiled an integrated marketing campaign Monday targeting investors, businesses and financial advisors centrally focused on rebuilding financial security.
The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off on any interest rate hikes until late 2010 or early 2011, though it may begin a “shift in phraseology” as early as the summer to prepare the markets for a shift in monetary policy, Josh Feinman, global economist at DB Advisors, predicted at a press briefing yesterday.
Hartford Strategic Income Fund manager Joe Portera said credit is now playing a major role in his fund’s portfolio and he is also focusing on income-oriented stocks.
Vanguard Group is launching a new marketing campaign that focuses on the low cost of the firm’s funds, Vanguard’s ownership structure and its investment philosophy.
Principal Funds has realigned its distribution into a two-tiered system that puts more manpower to work targeting major markets such as Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., as the firm looks to double its retail sales over the next three years.
Capitol Hill insiders were predicting last week House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) would give up on his cherished goal of a mandatory index fund 401(k) investment option to get a 401(k) fee disclosure statute on the books.
Actively managed exchange-traded funds have attracted big-name mutual fund players in recent months, with Legg Mason and T. Rowe Price Group the latest to add their names to the roster.
Denver Water has issued a request for proposals for a retirement plan administrator and custodian for its $64 million 401(k) and 457 plans.
The Department of Labor's new proposed investment advice regulation added a condition requiring advice in computer models to be designed and operated to avoid investment recommendations that "inappropriately distinguish among investment options within a single asset class on the basis of a factor that cannot confidently be expected to persist in the future."
In turbulent economic times, financial advisors demand more attention from asset managers, and if those managers are not responding quickly enough—or at all—they are doing themselves a disservice, according to a new report published this week by Financial Research Corp.
Canadian mutual fund manager Francis Chou is preparing to enter the U.S. market for the first time, having registered global value and global bond funds with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Claymore Securities has launched three exchange-traded funds based on broad market indexes provided by Wilshire Associates and will partner with Wilshire on other offerings.
RidgeWorth Investments is pushing mid-cap investing through a newly published white paper and “microsite” launched this week.
A collection of asset managers, service providers, consultants and lawyers in the defined contribution industry have banded together to create the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association.
United Technologies Corporation has selected Hewitt Associates as the recordkeeper for its approximately $14 billion 401(k) plan, replacing Fidelity Investments, according to a source familiar with the search process.
Michelle Keeley, who had been tapped to lead fixed-income investments when RiverSource Investments and Columbia Management merge some time this spring, will instead leave the firm, according to an institutional client memo obtained by FA.
Fred Alger Management is bulking up its international team, looking to add mid- and senior-level analysts to work on the New York firm's two international mutual funds and position it for growth, CEO Dan Chung told FA in an interview.
American Beacon Funds has adopted a global real estate fund and is planning on developing more real estate offerings.
John Hancock Funds is focused on achieving its goal of becoming a top 10 fund firm by sales in two years and has shaken up its distribution, tweaked its fund lineup through adoptions and recently launched a marketing campaign pushing funds focused on quality companies.
Staples has issued a request for proposals for a provider for its more than $510 million 401(k) plan, according to a source familiar with the search process.
A showdown is brewing up on Capitol Hill that could decide whether 401(k) fee disclosure legislation passes or not.
National accounts management teams are expected to become increasingly important, but fewer than 70% of firms anticipate staffing increases and less than half expect national accounts budgets to increase in the near future, according to a new report from kasina.
Brown Brothers Harriman named Shawn McNinch to the newly created position of global exchange-traded fund product and sales head.
Federated Investors has launched a password-protected, invitation-only Web site designed exclusively for registered investment advisors, analysts at wirehouses, consultants and other high-level clients.
The Orange County (Calif.) Transportation Authority is searching for a provider for its $58 million 457 and 401(a) plans. Bids are due March 10 and a decision is expected in mid-June.
Mercer has hired Christine Carolan, formerly v.p. and senior sales executive for T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, effective immediately.
The Dreyfus Corporation is stepping up its push for international diversification, sending CIO Phil Maisano out to prep the firm’s regional sales teams.
The Hartford is adding Class I shares to its Balanced Income and Short Duration funds.
Legg Mason plans to launch a mutual fund designed for investors who fear that inflation is set to increase and are looking for a way to protect assets.
Jamie Baxter, independent vice-chair of the Putnam Funds board, has been elected chair of the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, replacing David Ruder, who had been chairman since the Forum’s inception in 2002.
Cohen & Steers, known best for its real estate investment trusts and other real estate-related mutual funds, is preparing to launch an open-end fund that will invest in preferred securities.
The Orange County (Calif.) Transportation Authority is searching for a provider for its $58 million 457 and 401(a) plans.
Money market funds are going to have to crack the mystery of who their customers are to spot "hot money" coming in the door, the Securities and Exchange Commission told them last week.
Divestitures by large asset managers and the return of independent asset managers to the deal table are expected to propel a resurgent mergers and acquisitions market in 2010.
Prince William County Public Schools has issued a request for proposals from providers for its $306.3 million 403(b) and 457 plans.
Sprint has selected Northern Trust's target-date index funds as an investment option for its 50,000-life $2.4 billion 401(k) plan.
Pioneer Investments has promoted one sales team member and plans on hiring another to strengthen its efforts in the registered investment advisor space.
Dodge & Cox is in the midst of a leadership change as John Gunn, chairman and chief executive, prepares to step down as ceo, handing the reins to Kenneth Olivier, president.
Hennessy Funds is aiming to acquire boutique firms with an expertise in equities.
An Iowa-based registered investment advisor has teamed up with the National Corn Growers Association to launch a unique fund designed to give retail investors exposure to the green energy sector and agribusiness.
Mike Wyatt, head of stable asset management for T. Rowe Price, will retire from the firm Dec. 31, according to an internal announcement.
PIMCO has named Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr—two portfolio managers hired in December from Franklin Templeton Investments to aid the bond firm’s push into active equities—to manage its first-ever stock fund.
Dreyfus is preparing to launch a mutual fund that will replicate strategies used by hedge funds, a structure already offered by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Natixis Funds and IndexIQ in the form of mutual and exchange-traded funds.
Al Frank Asset Management is pushing its line of Dynamic Portfolio Series separately managed accounts with large broker/dealers and registered investment advisors.