Portfolio

Money and time are both precious commodities at family offices, and Fidelity Investments’ 140 single-family office clients were looking for ways to help their clients get on top of the administrative tasks involved in doing good.

Dalbar has introduced a registered fiduciary designation for 401(k) advisers, the 401(k) RF Designation, who have obtained the skills and training to perform at that level of care. Training for the designation is provided by qualified training organizations or through a self-study program.

Investors are interested in innovative investments that meet specific principals, according to a study by CREATE Research, commissioned by Citi’s global transaction services and Principal Global Investors.

Retirement as we know it is getting hit with two enormous threats.

Research Affiliates sees high inflation, low growth in the developed world. BlackRock looks for companies with strong cash flow. Gold prices rise.

Canada’s securities commissions have proposed to require transaction data on over-the-counter derivatives to be reported to trade repositories.

The world’s top foreign exchange dealers are working on an industry-wide initiative to reduce the risk of “flash-crash” hitting the global currency markets.

While mutual fund companies in general are not embracing mobile technologies to the degree that banks, credit cards and self-directed brokerages are, Vanguard and TIAA-CREF stand out in terms of its offering research and trades via mobile devices, according to Corporate Insight.

In the last proxy season, the 35 most prominent shareholder activists, who together manage more than $500 billion in assets, filed resolutions with nine oil and gas companies pressing them to disclose their plans for managing the risks of gas hydraulic fracturing -- or “fracking”-- which is increasingly common.

Nuveen Investments has launched the Nuveen Inflation Protected Municipal Bond Fund, which aims to protect investors against inflation and rising taxes.