Portfolio

Only 4% of plan sponsors have established goals to engage workers younger than 35 in their defined contribution plans, even though they know the younger generation's participation and contribution rates lag their older colleagues, a survey by Greenwich Associates for Northern Trust finds.

Corporate acquisitions using overpriced shares of stock rarely do much to cushion the decline the shares eventually suffer, according to a new study.

Every recognized profession has its top colleges. Medical and law schools in the U.S. date back to the 18th century. As a much more recent profession, financial planning has spent much of the last four decades developing its own system of education and professional certification. As many of the current crop of planners near retirement, they don't have to look too far to figure out where the next generation will come from. The answer is in all the schools. Not only has the number of programs been on the rise - up 15% since the past year and a half, according to the CFP Board - but enrollment in the programs themselves has generally been increasing, too. With so many CFP Board-registered programs out there, Financial Planning focused on 10 worthy institutions. We talked to veteran planners and industry leaders to get a sense of which 10 programs belonged in an overview. Our list is not a ranking. Like this survey itself, the information we've gathered is just a starting point. Think of it as Financial Planning Education 101, an introduction.

At a time when asset managers are increasingly questioning modern portfolio theory and static Morningstar style boxes, the Chicago research giant has announced its new "Analyst Ratings" to augment its 1- to 5-star ratings.

A ray of hope flashed across Twitter, amid the unrelenting, assaulting news on jobs, debt, housing, foreclosures and bankruptcies-from Jim Cramer's usually derisive TheStreet.com, of all places.

Corporate acquisitions using overpriced shares of stock rarely do much to cushion the decline the shares eventually suffer.

The waves of issuance rolling into the municipal primary market the past few weeks continue to grow. Last week's volume, at more than $9 billion, approached record territory for 2011, and this week's anticipated issuance should easily set a new high for the year, at nearly $12 billion.

Stocks rose 2.19%, or 259.89 points, Friday on positive news out of Italy and Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week 1.42% higher.

Affluent investors are very much in tune with the state of the nation, and except for some attractive stock valuations, they don’t like what they see. These was the main finding of a survey that Fidelity Investments took of 3,000 affluent investors, polling them in person or via a webinar at an Inside/Out Roundtable at 85 Fidelity Investor Centers nationwide.

Alabama issuers should not see their ratings lowered by the Jefferson County bankruptcy action, but investor perception could take its toll on future issues.