The March 2015 issue of The Cerulli Edge – U.S. Monthly Product Trends Edition explores regulations in the United States. The March Monthly Spotlight analyzes alternative avenues for alternative managers.
Some of the big money market fund players are beginning to implement their plans to comply with reform, which becomes effective October 2016. It is important for firms to determine their institutional versus retail client base and weigh respective options because eligibility requirements differ for each segment.
Mutual fund assets surged past the $12 trillion threshold in February, ending the month at $12.4 trillion. This growth is primarily a result of performance, especially among global equities. ETFs ended February with assets in excess of $2 trillion, an increase of 5.5% from January. Flows into both vehicles were healthy during February, with mutual funds taking in $34.6 billion and ETFs gleaning $29.8 billion.
Transparency is a major concern for some active portfolio managers since disclosing their holdings every day leaves them susceptible to having their trades front-runned. Data from a recent Cerulli survey found that ETF sponsors felt transparency matters more to institutional investors rather than retail investors.