IW Financial And Glass Lewis Expand Partnership
IW Financial, a research firm specializing in environmental and social data, and investor research firm Glass Lewis & Co. have expanded their partnership to incorporate governance research from Glass Lewis into IW Financial's sustainability research.
The Glass Lewis research will be offered through IW Financial's Workstation platform and data feeds.
A growing number of investors are looking for reliable research on the environmental, social and governance performance of the companies they invest in and need to confront the financial implications of those measures, say the two partner firms.
"Our clients want to be able to compare companies on an apples-to-apples basis across the full range of ESG issues," says Sam Pierce, president and CEO of IW Financial. "Incorporating Glass Lewis data will make this not only possible for our clients but easy."
Glass Lewis is an investment research and global proxy advisory and voting services firm, serving institutions that collectively manage more than $15 trillion. IW Financial is a provider of ESG research, analytics and consulting services that help institutional investors and asset managers develop policies, comply with guidelines and mandates, identify ESG risks and opportunities, and engage with companies.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that investors are beginning to look at environmental, social and governance factors in a coordinated fashion," says Robert McCormick, Glass Lewis' chief policy officer. "Putting our governance data together with IW Financial's sustainability research is a great way to ensure that investors have access to that coordinated information."
Vanguard To Offer Short-Term TIPS Index Fund
Vanguard, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund, expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The new fund will seek to track the performance of the Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Year Index, a market-weighted index that measures the performance of inflation-protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury that have a remaining maturity of less than five years.
Pacific Life Introduces Three Fixed-Income Funds
Pacific Life Funds, headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., has added three new mutual funds to its lineup of options for investors seeking income.
The PL Short Duration Income Fund is designed for investors seeking current income with protection against sudden or large interest-rate changes.
The PL Strategic Income Fund is designed to seek higher levels of income through non-investment-grade corporate debt and has the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. And the PL High Income Fund is designed to produce high income through disciplined, active portfolio management focused primarily on high-yield corporate bonds.
Longboard Launches Managed Futures Mutual Fund
Longboard Asset Management, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., has launched the Longboard Managed Futures Strategy Fund, an investment product offering a managed futures strategy in a mutual fund package. The goal is to offer direct access to portfolio manager talent at relatively lower costs and with greater transparency than what is offered by funds of funds or private placement opportunities.