Money fund assets rise to $2.727T in latest week

NEW YORK (AP) — Total money market mutual fund assets increased $16.81 billion to $2.727 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.

Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell $10.02 billion in the latest week to $907.37 billion.

Assets of taxable money market funds in the retail category fell $5.61 billion to $712.02 billion for the week ended Wednesday, the Washington-based mutual fund trade group said. Tax-exempt fund assets fell by $4.42 billion to $195.35 billion.

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Assets of institutional money market funds increased $26.83 billion to $1.820 trillion for the same period. Among institutional funds, taxable money market fund assets rose $27.29 billion to $1.710 trillion; assets of tax-exempt funds fell $460 million to $109.66 billion.

The seven-day average yield on taxable money market mutual funds in the week ended Tuesday remained unchanged from the previous week at 0.02 percent, said Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet Inc. in Westboro, Mass. The 30-day average yield remained unchanged from the previous week at 0.02 percent, according to Money Fund Report.

The seven-day compounded yield remained at 0.02 percent, the same as the previous week, while the 30-day compounded yield remained unchanged at 0.02 percent from the previous week, Money Fund Report said. The average maturity of the portfolios held by money funds fell to 43 days from 45 days the week before.

The online service Bankrate.com said its survey of 100 leading commercial banks, savings and loan associations and savings banks in the nation's 10 largest markets showed the annual percentage yield available on money market accounts were unchanged from the week before, as of Wednesday, at 0.17 percent.

The North Palm Beach, Fla.-based unit of Bankrate Inc. said the annual percentage yield available on interest-bearing checking remained unchanged from the week before at 0.08 percent.

Bankrate.com said the annual percentage yield on six-month certificates of deposit remained at 0.28 percent from the week before. Yields on one-year CDs remained at 0.46 percent; were unchanged at 0.73 percent on 2 1/2-year CDs; and were unchanged at 1.71 percent on five-year CDs.

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2 top mutual funds specializing in energy stocks

The recent rise in oil prices has boosted profits at many energy companies, lifting the returns of mutual funds that specialize in energy stocks. Those funds have returned an average 26 percent over the past 12-month period, according to Morningstar.

Below are two energy stock funds that Morningstar deems Analyst Picks within the category of just under 100 funds. The designation signifies Morningstar's recommendation of funds it expects to perform well in the future, as opposed to Morningstar's quantitative star-rating system that analyzes a fund's track record.

The two are:

1. Vanguard Energy (VGENX)

12-MONTH RETURN: 27.6 percent

3-YEAR ANNUALIZED LOSS: -1.1 percent

5-YEAR ANNUALIZED RETURN: 7.4 percent

10-YEAR ANNUALIZED RETURN: 14.9 percent

FUND ASSETS: $14.9 billion

MANAGERS: Karl Bandtel, James Troyer

EXPENSE RATIO: 0.34 percent

UPFRONT SALES CHARGE: None

MINIMUM INITIAL INVESTMENT: $25,000

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2. BlackRock Energy & Resources (SSGRX)

12-MONTH RETURN: 31 percent

3-YEAR ANNUALIZED LOSS: -1.4 percent

5-YEAR ANNUALIZED RETURN: 6 percent

10-YEAR ANNUALIZED RETURN: 18.4 percent

FUND ASSETS: $2 billion

MANAGERS: Dan Rice, Denis Walsh

EXPENSE RATIO: 1.35 percent

UPFRONT SALES CHARGE: 5.25 percent

MINIMUM INITIAL INVESTMENT: $1,000

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Note: Data through April 27

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HSBC launches two emerging market debt funds in the U.S.

HSBC Global Asset Management (USA) Inc. announced it has launched two new emerging market debt open-end mutual funds (the Funds). The HSBC Emerging Markets Debt Fund invests primarily in U.S. dollar denominated fixed income instruments of emerging market issuers and the HSBC Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund invests primarily in fixed income instruments denominated in emerging market local currencies. The Funds seek to maximize total return and provide exposure to emerging market economies. The HSBC Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund, in addition, has the potential to benefit from exposure to local currency appreciation relative to the U.S. dollar.

The HSBC Emerging Markets Debt team, based in New York, has managed institutional portfolios around the world since 1987. The team is currently led by Guillermo Ossés, Head of Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio Management.

Since 1990, due to strong economic fundamentals and improving debt dynamics, emerging market countries have experienced credit upgrades for both corporate and government issuers. Today, over half of the emerging market universe is investment grade and emerging-market bonds have substantially outperformed developed-market bonds over the last 15 years.

Peter Marber, Emerging Markets Debt Business Strategist for the Americas, said, "HSBC has offered emerging market debt mutual funds overseas since 1998 and we are excited to now bring our expertise to the wider U.S. market."

Emerging markets fixed income is a key investment strategy for HSBC Global Asset Management, which is considered to be one the largest emerging markets investment managers in the world, currently managing US$145 billion* in emerging market assets globally. Marber adds, "We have a global presence in the developed world and in the most dynamic emerging markets, which puts HSBC in the forefront as an Emerging Markets leader in terms of knowledge and expertise."

The HSBC Emerging Markets Debt Fund trades in A shares (HCGAX), I shares (HCGIX) and S shares (HBESX). The HSBC Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund trades in A shares (HBMAX), I shares (HBMIX) and S shares (HBMSX)

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Scout Investments finalizes acquisition of two Frontegra Bond Funds

Scout Investments (Scout) announced today that it has finalized the acquisition of the mutual fund advisory business of the Frontegra Columbus Core Fund and the Frontegra Columbus Core Plus Fund from Frontegra Asset Management.

"We are pleased to bring these two fixed income funds into the Scout Funds group," said Andy Iseman, chief executive officer of Scout Investments. "We remain committed to providing industry-leading investment solutions."

As part of the acquisition, the Frontegra Columbus Core Fund has been merged into the Scout Bond Fund and is now named the Scout Core Bond Fund. The Morningstar 5-star rated Frontegra Columbus Core Plus Fund has been reorganized into the newly-established Scout Core Plus Bond Fund. Scout, through its Reams Asset Management division acquired in 2010, will continue to manage both funds.

"Our team is excited about making the core and core plus fixed income products available to a broader audience beyond the institutional marketplace," said Mark Egan, managing director at Reams Asset Management and lead portfolio manager of the newly reorganized funds.

The new bond funds also complement the firm's strong line-up of equity products, which include the Morningstar 5-star rated Scout Mid Cap Fund and the Scout International Fund, which recently received a Lipper Fund Award for the second consecutive year as best in class. The Scout International Fund ranked best out of 194 international large-cap growth funds for consistent return over the three-year period ending December 31, 2010 based on risk-adjusted returns

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Midas Special Fund, Inc. changes name to Midas Magic, Inc.

Midas Special Fund, Inc. (NASDAQ: MISEX), a mutual fund investing aggressively for capital appreciation, is pleased to announce today that it has changed its name to Midas Magic, Inc. The Fund will continue to be available under its current ticker symbol, MISEX.

The Fund exercises a flexible strategy in the selection of securities, and is not limited by the issuer's location, size, or market capitalization. The Fund may invest in equity and fixed income securities of new and seasoned U.S. and foreign issuers with no minimum rating, and may employ aggressive and speculative investment techniques, such as selling securities short and borrowing money for investment purposes, a practice known as "leveraging" and may invest defensively in short term, liquid, high grade securities, and money market instruments

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Pioneer Investments announces launch of Pioneer Absolute Return Credit Fund and Pioneer Multi-Asset Floating Rate Fund

ioneer Investments today announced the addition of two new mutual funds to its family of U.S. mutual funds: Pioneer Absolute Return Credit Fund (RCRAX); and Pioneer Multi-Asset Floating Rate Fund (MAFRX).

"Investors are looking for new, innovative ways to diversify their fixed income portfolios that allow them to address the growing risks in fixed income markets associated with volatility and the inevitability of rising interest rates," says Kenneth J. Taubes, U.S. Chief Investment Officer of Pioneer Investments. "Both of our new funds offer solutions for these concerns through flexible investment strategies that leverage the deep experience and expertise we have at Pioneer actively managing multi-sector bond strategies and analyzing relative values in all sectors of the global bond markets," Taubes added.

Pioneer Absolute Return Credit Fund (RCRAX)

This is Pioneer Investments' first U.S. absolute return fund. The fund seeks a high level of current income with capital appreciation as a secondary objective. The fund uses an absolute return strategy incorporating a broad spectrum of credit instruments globally, and multiple hedging techniques to manage cyclical market volatility and protect against more extreme market events.

"While many absolute return funds focus on total return, our fund's flexible mandate allows us to generate income while hedging against market volatility in an effort to achieve positive returns over market cycles," says Michael Temple, Head of Credit Research and a member of the team managing the fund. "One of the unique features of this fund is our ability to use different techniques to attempt to protect fund assets during extreme, "black swan" type market events," Temple added.

The fund is managed by a three-person team, including Temple and High Yield Portfolio Manager Andrew Feltus – each with 20 years of investment experience. They are supported by Quantitative Research Analyst Chin Liu, and are backed by Pioneer's fixed-income credit research department.

The fund commences operations on April 29, 2011, and is distributed through a wide range of financial advisors in retail and institutional share classes. For more information on the fund, investors should contact their investment advisor or visit www.pioneerinvestments.com for a copy of the prospectus or summary prospectus. Additional information on risks is below.

Pioneer Multi-Asset Floating Rate Fund (MAFRX)

Pioneer believes that now, more than ever, floating rate securities can play an important role in an investor's total asset allocation. This fund seeks to address the challenges posed by rising interest rates, potential inflation, and volatility using an uncommon approach that seeks to provide diversification, income and capital appreciation.

"What sets this fund apart is its flexibility to invest in a wide range of floating rate instruments globally, a focus on short durations of one year or less, and a bias towards higher-quality securities," says Charles Melchreit, a Portfolio Manager and member of the team managing the fund.

The fund's investment universe focuses on U.S. dollar-denominated securities and includes, but is not limited to, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, U.S. government securities, corporate bonds, bank loans, and event-linked bonds. The fund's ability to allocate opportunistically among this broad range of floating rate sectors helps to provide diversity, income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund seeks higher income than cash, with a higher quality bias and lower volatility than traditional floating rate funds that may focus only on bank loans. It pursues a shorter duration than a typical short-term bond fund.

The fund is managed by three members of Pioneer's U.S. fixed income team with an average of 19 years of investment experience between them. They include Melchreit, who specializes in structured securities, Portfolio Manager Seth Roman, who specializes in short-term instruments, and Portfolio Manager Jonathan Sharkey, who specializes in bank loans.

The fund commences operations on April 29, 2011, and is distributed through a wide range of financial advisors in retail and institutional share classes. For more information on the fund, investors should contact their investment advisor or visit www.pioneerinvestments.com for a copy of the prospectus or summary prospectus.

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Highland Long/Short Equity Fund wins TheStreet's Best Stock Long/Short Mutual Fund 2011

Highland Funds ("Highland") announced that the Highland Long/Short Equity Fund (HEOCX) was named winner of the 2011 Best Stock Mutual Fund, Long/Short category, in TheStreet's first annual Best Mutual Funds and ETFs Awards. The Highland Long/Short Equity Fund is managed by Jonathan Lamensdorf and James Dondero, both of Highland Capital Management, L.P.

The award-winning TheStreet Ratings independent research business used a proprietary model to identify the winning and runner-up investment funds based on their performance, fees and relative risk during a performance period ending December 31, 2010. The complete list of TheStreet's Best Mutual Funds and ETFs annual award winners for 2011 appear online at www.thestreet.com/topfunds.

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