Portfolio

Here are a dozen gifts (plus one) which could ruin your holiday spirit -- and pocketbook -- if FINRA decides you have crossed the line and been too generous.

Investors pushed stocks higher for the first time this week Thursday after an initial jobless claims report checked in at a three-and-a-half week low and the Philadelphia’s Fed’s Business Outlook for December came in with a 10.3 reading – dramatically higher than the 4 score most economists had predicted.

Advisors agree almost unanimously that volatility will be a force to reckon with in the next two years, but 38% are not using managed volatility strategies in client portfolios, according to an SEI poll of 200 financial advisors.

Raymond James has added four firms with total assets of $410 million to its RIA division, said Mike DiGirolamo, senior vice president and managing director of the Investment Advisors Division of Raymond James Financial Services.

The 11th quarterly Allstate-National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll found that near-retiree Baby Boomers have pushed back initial plans to retire at age 60, to 66. Additionally, 68% of Baby Boomers expect to work in some form after retirement, the survey of 1,200 Americans found. Only 11% of current retirees currently work.

On the heels of reports coming out of Washington on the government’s scramble to protect the country’s power grid from cybercriminals, CSC reports the launch of an Insurance Cybersecurity Advisory Council for life insurance and annuity providers and property/casualty insurers.

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According to the latest statistics from the Investment Company Institute, an estimated $5.76 billion left domestic equity mutual funds the week ended Dec. 7, continuing a long streak of net investor redemptions. Since May 1, investors have been pulled nearly $135 billion from U.S. stock funds.

Stocks recorded losses for a third day in row Wednesday as commodity and energy stocks fell amid persistent concerns that European banking officials aren’t doing enough to safeguard the region – and the rest of the world – from a more severe economic downturn.

The U.S. economy, while still vulnerable, has shown encouraging signs of progress over the last few months, according to a report released by TD Economics, an affiliate of TD Bank.