Portfolio

Investors may be fleeing from mutual funds that invest in U.S. stocks for the long haul. But that does not mean they’re fleeing U.S. stock funds.

Retail reaction to the announcement that Jefferson County, Ala., filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is likely to be muted, yet will still be closely monitored, portfolio managers say.

Fidelity Investments has introduced two new emerging markets funds, the Fidelity Total Emerging Markets Fund and the Fidelity Emerging Markets Discovery Fund. The first fund invests in equities and bonds, the second in small- and mid-cap stocks.

Fidelity Investments has introduced two new emerging markets funds, the Fidelity Total Emerging Markets Fund and the Fidelity Emerging Markets Discovery Fund. The first fund invests in equities and bonds, the second in small- and mid-cap stocks.

The Insured Retirement Institute said third-quarter annuity sales rose to $57 billion in the third quarter, up 5% from the year-ago period. Sales year-to-date were $175.4 billion, up from $163.1 billion in 2010.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is proposed a fundamentally different approach to defined contribution plans by stripping down offerings a complexities to a menu of just three choices: a diversified stock portfolio, a diversified bond portfolio and one offering diversified cash alternatives.

NYSE Euronext said the volume of stock trading it handled in the United States dropped again in October, after peaking in August.

More than $1.2 trillion has been redeemed from equity mutual funds since September 2008, and retail outflows year-to-date through September have surpassed $89 billion—on pace to be greater than all of the money that fled mutual funds in 2008, said Ron O’Hanley, president of asset management and corporate services at Fidelity Investments.

"Emerging markets are just a niche asset class” persistently remains as one of the five biggest myths about investing in emerging markets, said John Flint, chief executive officer of HSBC Global Asset Management.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 389.24 points to 11780.94 as investors grew concerned about the Euro zone. Stocks had the largest points and percentage drop in seven weeks.