Portfolio

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28 points to finish at 12,980.30 Thursday while tech stocks lifted the Nasdaq 22 points to end at 2,988.97.

The much-awaited opening of trading in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Total Return ETF arrived this morning. By noon, 345,800 shares had been traded. Missing from the ringing of the bell at the New York Stock Exchange: the fund’s manager, Bill Gross.

Wedbush Securities has launched a trading platform provider that the firm says will dramatically speed up trades for fund managers and other institutional investors, as well as give them better control over their transaction costs.

For some Dow components (and their investors), February was a heartbreaker. Here’s an interactive slide show highlighting the 5 worst-performing Dow component stocks for February 2012.

The Principal Financial Group has entered into a definitive agreement to buy a 60 percent stake in Claritas Investments, Ltd., a Sao Paulo-based mutual fund and asset management company with more than $1.8 billion in assets under management.

Independent broker-dealer Paulson Investment Company has agreed to transfer its retail operations to RIA and broker-dealer JHS Capital Advisors.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management yesterday unveiled two funds today: a managed futures fund and a short duration income fund. These launches follow the launch of a rising dividend growth fund on Monday.

The municipal market for the month of February continued its upswing in new issuance of long-term bonds from one year earlier.

Fidelity Investments has launched an initiative dubbed “Thinking Big,” for publicly promoting the research of its investment analysts and experts. The firm will launch the initiative in conjunction with its sponsorship of the 2012 TED conference, an annual event that brings together global thought leaders.

Bank of America has added a new investment offering to its Merrill Edge program for mass-affluent investors.