Portfolio

Institutions say they will sharply reduce their use of money market funds if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopts either a net asset value float, a redemption holdback or capital buffer requirements on the industry, according to a report released by the Investment Company Institute.

The investment bank and brokerage said its bond trading revenue rose compared with last year's first quarter, stripping out an accounting quirk, even as its chief rival, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, posted a decline.

Trading on U.S. equity markets averaged 6.6 billion shares a day in March, according to Tabb Group. That was down from 6.9 billion in February.

Bank holding companies earned $2.84 billion from the sale of annuities in 2011, up 10.4% from the previous year, according to a new report from Michael White Associates.

On April 19, 2012, Global X Funds has launched a new exchange-traded fund offering access to master limited partnerships (MLP) which the firm says charges roughly half other ETF providers charge in this invest category.

Despite generally strong quarterly earnings and outlooks from companies in a variety sectors, the Dow Jones Industrial Average still fell another 68.65 points to end at 12,964.10 Thursday.

On April 19, 2012, BlackRock, Inc. said that its iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business has launched a new fund focused on corporate bonds in emerging market countries.

On April 19, RidgeWorth unveiled a new branding service for advisors.

On April 19, 2012, the financial research and consulting organization LIMRA has hired Alison Salka to serve as corporate vice president and director of its retirement research division.

On April 19, 2012, Capital markets tech provider Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has launched a new corporate website by which mutual fund executives can shop for software systems and services.