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January 18, 2013 at 10:56 AM
New products introduced and changes made over the last week include additional data disclosure on Fidelity’s money-market funds and the closure of Fidelity’s Small Cap Discovery Fund to new investors; an advisor change made by Vanguard on its International Value Fund; the launch of Morningstar’s U.S. Real Assets Index; the availability of the Hatteras Managed Futures Strategies Fund on Schwab’s OneSource platform; the launch of a new business improvement platform for advisors by Zero Alpha Group; and a new ETF from Global X.
In addition, Oppenheimer Funds announced the launch of its Diversified Alternatives Fund; Russell Indexes and NYSE Euronext announced a global alliance; American Independence launched its new Dynamic Conservative Plus strategy and fund; The Guardian launched a new deferred income annuity; and ground was broken for the new Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab at UC Irvine.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) Fidelity to Disclose Daily Per-Share Market Value Price of Money-Market Funds
Fidelity Investments announced recently that it would begin daily disclosure of the per-share market value of money-market mutual funds that it manages, effective Jan. 16. The new daily disclosure does not affect the $1 stable net asset value (NAV) that continues to apply to all investor transactions in Fidelity money-market mutual funds or the way the funds are managed.
Beginning January 16, money market mutual funds Fidelity manages published their per-share market values the following business day on Fidelity’s website. This information is already disclosed on a monthly basis as part of the SEC’s rules. Fidelity money market mutual fund holdings remain available daily to shareholders, upon request.
2) Fidelity to Close Small Cap Discovery Fund
Fidelity Investments announced Wednesday that it is closing the Fidelity Small Cap Discovery Fund (FSCRX) to new accounts. Fidelity will open new accounts in FSCRX until 4 p.m. EST on Jan. 31. After that, investors generally will not be able to open new accounts in the fund. However, existing shareholders invested in the fund can continue to add to their accounts. Employer-sponsored retirement plans and certain discretionary programs offered by registered investment advisors may be able to open additional accounts for investors if the fund was established as an option as of Jan. 31.
FSCRX seeks long-term growth of capital by investing at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies with small market capitalizations (those with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 2000 Index or the S&P Small Cap 600 Index). Chuck Myers has managed the fund since March 2006.
3) Vanguard Announces Advisory Change for International Value Fund
Vanguard recently announced modifications to the investment advisory structure of the $6.8 billion Vanguard International Value Fund (VTRIX). Hansberger Global Investors will no longer serve as an advisor under the new arrangement, and its portion of the fund (approximately 17%) will be reallocated to Lazard Asset Management and Edinburgh Partners Limited, which currently serve as advisors to the fund.
Under the new arrangement, Lazard will manage approximately 39% of the fund’s assets, Edinburgh Partners 34%; and ARGA Investment Management, LP 24%. Cash investments will account for the remainder of the fund’s assets. VTRIX invests in non-U.S. companies from developed and emerging international markets, focusing on stocks that its advisors view as temporarily undervalued. The fund has followed a multimanager approach since 2004.
4) Morningstar Launches Real Asset Index
Morningstar announced Thursday that it has launched the Morningstar U.S. Real Asset Index, a diversified portfolio of liquid assets that traditionally provide a hedge against inflation, including Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), real estate investment trusts (REITs), and commodity stocks and futures.
The Morningstar U.S. Real Asset Index consists of liquid assets that can be accessed easily in public markets. The index holds approximately 40% TIPS, 30% commodities futures, 15% REITs and 15% commodity stocks, including both companies involved with resource extraction and master limited partnerships (MLPs) engaged in resource transportation and processing. Morningstar reconstitutes the index semiannually.
5) Hatteras Managed Futures Strategies Fund Available on Schwab OneSource
Hatteras Funds announced that the Hatteras Managed Futures Strategies Fund (HMFIX, HMFAX) is now available on the Charles Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource platform.
The fund launched on Sept. 27. The team has managed the strategy since September 2011 as one of the five strategies within Hatteras Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund (ALPHX, ALPIX).
6) Zero Alpha Group Launches New Business Improvement Platform for Advisors
The Zero Alpha Group (ZAG) recently announced the launch of a new advisor improvement platform called ZAG Leadership Institute (ZLI), designed to directly address current near- and long-term challenges financial advisors face in business.
The ZLI is a collaboration of firms investing in each other’s next generation leaders via a training regimen overseen by Jerry Foster. With an emphasis on peer-to-peer interaction, the ZLI collectively provides a template for adoption of best practices.
