Fund firms are likely to face downward pressure on fees, as well as fewer mutual fund share classes, based on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule, according to a recent story in Investment News. 

When launching a new fund, there are myriad considerations. Perhaps the most critical is whether investors will be interested. We are pleased to share our review of another research paper by Morningstar: The Rise and Fall of New Funds, Why Some Funds Succeed and Others Don't.  

Morningstar's 30 plus page research report concludes that “investors really do respond to a wide spectrum of information about mutual funds when making their investment decisions. Data on past performance, investment recommendations, firm quality, management continuity, fund structure, style tilts, and fees all have meaningful impacts on investor behavior."

Outlining the difficulties ahead as the trends seem to be strongly in place

The trend toward passive investment strategies, and away from active asset management, will accelerate, according to Moody’s. 

According to Moody’s, the third quarter could be upbeat for mutual fund companies.

Morningstar recently announced changes to its Morningstar Analyst Ratings system, now applying this forward-looking rating to ETFs. In addition, ETFs will now be combined into the same relevant peer group alongside mutual funds for the traditional Morningstar one to five-star rating calculated quantitatively using backward-looking performance and risk data. 

There are many financial industry conferences hosted every year. Each event requires a hefty "investment" of time and resources. Choosing which conferences to attend each year can be a daunting task. 

Plenty of financial industry conferences are hosted every year. Choosing which ones to attend or “invest in” is no easy task. We have compiled and analyzed a number of them to help you make a strategic decision. 

One of the conferences atop many investment professionals’ list is the annual Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago, IL. This year’s event took place June 13-15 at McCormick Place and featured presentations from Vanguard, Franklin Templeton Investments, AQR Capital Management and others, including a comedic performance from SNL legend Darrell Hammond.

Market Volatility Is Here To Stay. How Are Some Investors Dealing With It?

The first half of the year saw the market heading toward stability and growth for the first time in years. 

US Investors May Fear They've Missed the Boat on this Recent Market Rally

-US equity funds shed $8.2 billion in the week ending July 20

-US bond funds captured almost double that amount

US Equity Funds Hit Record Outflow

In June, active US equity funds went through the largest one month outflow since October of 2008. Morningstar released a summary of June 2016 asset flows, and it had some nervously wringing their hands.