Portfolio

Investors relieved by the relatively minimal impact of Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Irene pushed stocks higher Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial average stormed up 254.71 points to close at 11,539.25.

BlackRock has filed to create proprietary indexes for its iShares exchange-traded funds. The indexes will be "transparent to the public," the exemptive order says, indicating the indexes could be for actively managed ETFs.

It may be true that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, but a long track record may play well with investors during these tumultuous times. And that’s exactly what some prominent blended funds bring to the table.

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Touchstone Investments has launched the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, which will seek to achieve positive returns over the long-term, regardless of market conditions, by investing in companies involved in publicly announced mergers or other corporate reorganizations.

While economists have predicted U.S. GDP growth of 3.1% over the next 12 months, Mellon Capital Management foresees growth of 2.0% -- primarily due to government policy stalemates and the lingering impact of the debt crisis in Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrial average rallied up another 135 points, or 1.2%, to close at 11,284.54 Friday, closing out a week that saw gold prices swoon and some semblance of investor confidence restored.

While economists have predicted U.S. GDP growth of 3.1% over the next 12 months, Mellon Capital Management foresees growth of 2.0%—primarily due to government policy stalemates and the lingering impact of the debt crisis in Europe.

Touchstone Investments has launched the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, which will seek to achieve positive returns over the long-term, regardless of market conditions, by investing in companies involved in publicly announced mergers or other corporate reorganizations.

Columbia Management has launched the Columbia Acorn Emerging Markets Fund and the Columbia Acorn European Fund, each of which will invest in companies with market caps of less than $5 billion.