Portfolio

The vast majority of retail advisers now use alternative products or strategies for their clients-but that number is a bit misleading, a new study finds.

Despite recent volatility, UBS analyst says investors should buck up and “stay the course,” not shifting their allocation away from equities.

The spike in market activity and volatility spurred by the downgrade of U.S. debt, the debt-ceiling contratemps in Congress and the European sovereign debt overhang did not drive overall trading volume to record levels in August.

The spike in market activity and volatility spurred by the downgrade of U.S. debt, the debt-ceiling contratemps in Congress and the European sovereign debt overhang did not drive overall trading volume to record levels in August.

PIMCO has launched the PIMCO Credit Absolute Return Fund, a go-anywhere type of fixed income fund that will employ some hedging strategies, including shorting and credit default swap derivatives, and be managed by Mark Kiesel.

In Part Two of this series on China, I’ll look at the massive build out within China and see if this fixed investment boom is sustainable. If the building boom ends, it could cause a worldwide economic slowdown.

The analysts at Standard & Poor’s, who have pegged the U.S. economy’s growth rate at a paltry 2% for 2012, say that advisors and investors might find some value in steel stocks and ETFs.

Among large-cap indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial average was the top performer in a decidedly bad month for equities, but still shed 4.36% of its total value in August.

Even though the stock market has been extraordinarily volatile over the past month, most investors are not changing their allocations to stocks and bonds, according to the RCB Consumer Outlook Index.

Janus has launched the Janus Aspen Moderate Allocation Portfolio, specifically designed for the insurance channel. The portfolio is a fund-of-funds that will invest in other Janus products with a target of 60% of its underlying holdings in stocks and 40% in fixed income.