Dave Lindorff

Within a day of each other, two companies -- Guggenheim Investments and Invesco -- launched new exchange traded funds for Chinese yuan-denominated bonds on the New York Stock Exchange.

Financial advisors and clients who may have been curious about exchange-traded fund managed portfolios but have been deterred by the lack of any objective rating or way to compare the performances of hundreds of these funds will soon have those tools at their disposal.

Employees who are automatically enrolled in target-date funds when they are signed up for a 401(k) plan are very likely to stick with the target date investment strategy for the long haul, according to a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Financial advisors and their wealthier clients will have a lot more separately managed alternative accounts to consider next year, according to a new study by Aite Group, the Boston-based independent financial industry research and advisory firm.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the proposal of a new rule designed “to prohibit certain material conflicts of interest between those who package and sell asset-backed securities (ABS) and those who invest in them.”

Investment Company Institute report finds that an astonishing $178 billion has moved out of mutual funds and equity ETFs in the past 30 months. Could this dramatic exodus from stocks mark the volatile market’s bottom and great buying opportunity for advisors and investors?

Advisors take heed: Investment firm UBS Wealth Management is announcing a reduction in its recommendation for equity weightings in portfolios from “neutral” to “moderate underweighting,” with a corresponding increase in cash holdings.

In a period of high market volatility like now, many mutual funds can be capital gains time bombs for investors including those buy-and-hold types who do just as their advisors recommend and sit tight while everyone else is fleeing the market.

Developing economies of the world are still showing robust growth, but that may not be enough to lift the sagging economies of the developed world which still account for 60% of combined global economic output, warns Lin Yifu, a World Bank senior vice president and chief economist.

Among current retirees, annuities account for only an average of 4% of household income. That’s the finding of a new study of annuity use among retirees and near retirees just released by LIMRA, the Connecticut-based financial industry research organization.

An accountant with a New York accounting firm that handles smaller broker-dealers is warning advisors who work at such firms that if their employer is a clearing organization, they should pay attention to how well it is planning for a continuation of business under new rule changes being mulled by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A recent survey by Putnam Investments disclosed that American households are on track to replace only about 64% of their current income in retirement -- significantly less than the 75% of income that most financial professionals recommend. To help address this discrepancy, the money management firm is rolling out a tool it says will give employers and their advisors a way to help boost employees’ retirement savings.

With the risk of a second downturn in the U.S. economy rising and debt problems continuing to plague Europe, many investors are shunning the equities market altogether. Meanwhile, the rush to safety in fixed-income investments has driven yields down to “incredibly low” levels, according to analysts.

Traditionally, municipal bonds have been sold to investors in units of $1,000 or even $5,000 or $10,000 per bond, a size that deters many smaller investors or leads them to turn to a bond fund. Now California is doing something about that by offering $25 mini-bonds.

Bank-affiliated brokerages have been big revenue earners for banks, especially since the financial crisis struck in 2008, but a new Aite Group study found that banks could and should be doing much more to boost revenues from cross-selling wealth management products to retail bank customers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission this week said it’s in the early stages of a major examination into the operations of hedge fund companies and investment banks that engage in high-frequency trading.

Most analysts and economists believe the Federal Reserve Board is practically compelled to do something to help boost the economy when it meets later this month. If and when the Fed makes a move, it will likely have a negative impact on bond funds.

IndexIQ, an issuer of mutual funds and ETFs that replicate the investments of hedge funds, this week said some of its most popular products not only bested the performance of the S&P 500 Index, but they also outperformed many of the larger hedge funds, too.

LIMRA's latest study finds that while life insurance ownership is at an “all-time low” in terms of the percentage of families that have coverage, this situation presents advisors with a huge opportunity for new policy sales.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles district office has obtained an emergency court order halting all operations and freezing the assets of a company it says has been “creating the illusion” for seven years that it was taking investors’ money and investing it in life settlements.