Institutional Investors Shifting To Index Funds

In an article titled: "Active Managers Get Cold Shoulder," Craig Karmin writes in Monday's Wall Street Journal that big institutional managers are increasingly shifting to index funds.

It quotes a director of the $9 billion Illinois State Board of Investment as saying that "active managers have not given us the added performance in a down market that we hoped for."

You can read the story here.

SEC Investigating Dark Pools

In an interesting story from the Financial Times, the Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into so-called "dark pools." In an interview with Mary Schapiro, the SEC's chairwoman, the paper is reporting that the trading systems set up for large investors to block trade with little outside transparency is a source of real concern for U.S. regulators.

You can read the story here.

Hedge Funds Redux?

In a look at the growth in exchange-traded funds using hedging strategies, MarketWatch's John Spence notes an ironic twist; namely the fact that even though hedge funds are falling in popularity, ETF providers are rushing to come out with their own versions.

The difference, of course, is that the ETF industry is able to provide similar products without taking 2% off the top and charges much more reasonable annual expense ratios.

You can read the story here.

ETFs Turn More Active

As the markets continue to show signs of volatility, this Boston Globe piece looks at the evolution of ETFs and notes developments in how they're inching toward more actively managed products.

You can read the story here.