PMs

Christopher James Peel and Herbert J Arnett, Jr., both vice presidents of Global Advisors, joined the Templeton Foreign Fund team this month as PMs. Peel has worked for Franklin Templeton Investments since 2007, Arnett since 1996.

Lazard Asset Management LLC added four PMs to the Lazard Equity Franchise Portfolio this month. Bertrand Cliquet has worked for Lazard for 13 years, Matthew Landy for 12 years, John Mulquiney for 12 years, and Warryn Robertson for 16 years.

Starting September 30, Steven V. Soranno will take on the role of co-PM at the Capital Advisor's Fund, a series of Advisors Series Trust from Capital Advisors, Inc. Soranno is also a vice president and director of equity research at Wealth Management Solutions as well as an adjunct professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Morgan Stanley Variable Insurance Fund, Inc. added two new PM's to its team. Alex Gabriele and Richard Perrott, both vice presidents of MSIM Limited, started with the fund this month.

Openings and Closings

At the close of business on October 30, the Nationwide Geneva Small Cap Growth Fund will be partially closed to new investment. Permission to invest will be granted at the discretion of the fund, with a few exceptions. Previously established shareholders will be allowed to continue purchasing shares and add exchanges from other Nationwide Funds to their accounts. 401k and and other group employer benefit plans will stay open to new plans and investments. Advisors and approved brokerage platforms who manage approved discretionary fee–based advisory programs or have the Fund included in their discretionary account models will also be able to continue using existing accounts.

The Hartford HLS Series Fund II, Inc is closing 18 funds to new qualified pension and retirement plans at the close of business on December 31, officially marking the close of new investment to all 20 of its funds. Purchases may be made up till the closing date, but shareholders and a limited number of pension and retirement plans pre-approved by HartfordFunds Distributors, LLC may continue to purchase past the closing date.

Charles Schwab Investment Management is changing its protocol on October 2, now requiring investors to purchase shares through CS account or a financial intermediary. This will affect the Schwab AMT Tax-Free Money Fund, the Schwab Variable Share Price Money Fund Ultra Shares, the Schwab Investor Money Fund, the Schwab Municipal Money Fund, the Schwab New York Municipal Money Fund, the Schwab California Municipal Money Fund, the Schwab Retirement Advantage Money Fund, the Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund, the Schwab Treasury Obligations Money Fund, and the Schwab Government Money Fund.

Rebranding

Around November 1, the Dreyfus GNMA Fund name will change to Dreyfus U.S. Mortgage Fund.

Effective October 27, the John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust is changing the names of three funds. The 500 Index Trust B will be the 500 Index Trust, the International Equity Index Trust B will be the International Equity Index Trust , and the Total Bond Market Trust B will be the Total Bond Market Trust.

Alpha Risk Hedged Dividend Equity Fund, of the Starboard Investment Trust, advised by Cavalier Investments, Inc., changed its name this month to Alpha Risk Tactical Rotation Fund, along with a change in investment strategy and a switch to the S&P Target Risk Moderate Index.

Share Classes

Class T shares were closed this week for the Dreyfus/Laurel Funds Trust, the Dreyfus Emerging Markets Fund, and the Dreyfus Family of Funds.

Ivy Funds share classes will change with the new year. Starting in January, 2018 Class C shares that are at least ten years old will automatically convert to Class A shares on the ten year mark of their purchase. There will be no charges for this conversion.

This month the World Funds Trust converted all Toreador Core Fund Retail Class Shares to Investor Class shares.

The Jackson Variable Series Trust changed all Class B shares to Class I, officially launching the new share class on Monday. The trust includes 28 Jackson National Life affiliated funds, all of which are affected by the change this week.

The MFS Managed Wealth Fund and MFS International Diversification Fund are launching a new share class, Class R6, with no initial or subsequent minimum investment level. The class will be offered for sale on October 2.

On September 19 the Charles Schwab Family of Funds board of trustees approved the major revamping of a number of its funds, including its class names. Premier Shares of the Schwab Municipal Money Fund will be renamed Ultra Shares, along with a consolidation of Select Shares into the Ultra Shares class on November 17. Starting September 2, Select Shares will be closed to new investors; however existing investors will still be able to purchase Select Shares, and they will be able to exchange those shares for Ultra Shares. Similarly, on November 19 the Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund will consolidate all Select and Premier Shares into Ultra Shares. Select and Premier funds will also close on November 2, with the same protocol as the Schwab Municipal Money Fund Premier shares. On October 3, the Schwab Government Money Fund Purchased Shares and the Schwab Treasury Obligations Money Fund Value Advantage Shares will both be renamed Investor Shares.

Liquidations

The Board of Directors of TD Asset Management USA Funds Inc. approved the liquidation of the TD Short-Term Bond Fund, TD Core Bond Fund, TD High Yield Bond Fund, Epoch U.S. Equity Shareholder Yield Fund, Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield Fund, and TD Target Return Fund. Each fund is a series of TD Asset Management USA Funds Inc. The funds will liquidate on January 17. 2018. TD Short-Term Bond Fund, TD High Yield Bond Fund, Epoch U.S. Equity Shareholder Yield Fund, and TD Target Return Fund will close to new investment on October 27, and TD Core Bond Fund and Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield Fund will close to new investment on January 12, 2018.

The JPMorgan Diversified Real Return Fund will liquidate on December 8. Shareholders can expect records of their assets on the day of liquidation, with the exception of cash, bank deposits, and cash equivalents. IRA shares will be automatically exchanged for Morgan Shares of the JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market Fund, though shareholders can opt out of this.

People

Starting last week David G Van Hooser of Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. is retiring from his positions as Trustee, chairman of the board, and president of Harbor Funds. No outside hires have been named; however, Charles F McCain has stepped up from his position as vice president to assume Hooser’s former role as president.

Launches

Guggenheim Investments launched a new trust, MLP & Energy Funds Portfolio, yesterday. It has an expiration date of approximately two years from its inception, with an investment strategy focused around MLP space, closed end funds, and ETF shares. BNY Mellon is the trustee.



Check our previous Filings For Fundsters column (previously called Stork and Reaper) for more SEC filing updates. For the latest new hires, fund launches, and industry statistics, explore our Follow The Fundsters, New Fund Fuss, and AUM Update columns. If you have a fund filing, a mutual fund launch, a product change or a new hire that you would like to announce, please contact the MFWire team at editors@investmentwires.com. 

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