Portfolio

The Dow Jones Industrial Average stormed up 211.88 points Thursday to end at 12,887.93 while the tech-laden Nasdaq and S&P 500 gained 39 points and 22 points, respectively.

On July 26, 2012, Target-date funds pulled in $13.9 billion in the second quarter despite the nearly 3% loss on average, according to Morningstar.

Los Angeles-based del Rey Global Investors, LLC, has expanded its sales and marketing groups with the addition of Dean C. Phillips as vice president, National Sales and Marketing, and Dennis McCarthy, vice president, Institutional Sales.

On July 26, 2012, BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc., firms that collectively manage more than $7 trillion, are gauging how their clients have been hurt by Libor manipulation and whether to take legal action as at least a dozen banks are being investigated for rate-rigging.

Mass affluent clients represent the sweet spot for every wealth management firm's business. So what's on their minds right now?

Schwab Advisor Services says fewer RIA mergers and acquisitions took place in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period last year, but the average assets under management acquired in those transactions jumped dramatically.

Evercore Partners Inc., the advisory firm founded by former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, said second-quarter profit rose 19% as investment-banking revenue climbed.

Scottsdale, AZ-based Longboard Asset Management has launched the Longboard Managed Futures Strategy Fund (WAVIX), a trend following offering.

The $99 million inflow reported by the Investment Company Institute for the week ended July 18 does not erase the $11.8 billion pulled out of such funds in the prior six weeks.

The municipal bond market continues to strengthen as positive supply and demand factors this week push tax-exempts higher.