Columnist joins staff

Jeffrey Benjamin, a former reporter with Dow Jones News Service and more recently a consultant with Cerulli Associates Inc., is joining InvestmentNews’ Boston bureau as a reporter and columnist.

His primary responsibility at Cerulli was to research and prepare in-depth reports on the financial services industry, including hedge funds and registered investment advisers.

He also was responsible for client development, research presentations and media inquiries.

At Dow Jones & Co., he worked as a reporter for two years, covering the asset management industry, international mutual funds and regulatory issues. His stories also appeared in Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal.

He is the second reporter in InvestmentNews’ Boston bureau, his position created as part of a staff expansion. InvestmentNews marked its second anniversary as a weekly newspaper in January.

It is the fastest-growing start-up publication in the history of parent Crain Communications Inc., which publishes 30 business titles, including Advertising Age and AutoWeek.

Mr. Benjamin will cover mutual funds and other aspects of financial services. His weekly column, which debuts next week, will focus on trends on Wall Street and other investment-related topics.