Portfolio

Global X Funds has launched the Global X Waste Management ETF, which will evenly divide its holdings in hazardous and non-hazardous waste and recycling companies.

Whether it's a case of the comparatively small number of "haves" simply socking away a lot more money or a jump in smaller contributions by a larger group of middle class investors, Americans' total retirement investment assets surged to more than $17.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 9.1% for the year.

Seventy percent of 88 institutional investors surveyed by Northern Trust expect inflation to increase over the next six months and 62% are bracing for a spike in market volatility.

It's not exactly cats and dogs living together, but a new white paper from Sanctuary Wealth Services surmises that independent advisors and wirehouse brokers could definitely learn a lot from each other when it comes to attracting and retaining clients and would do well to learn from each other's mistakes in the future.

“Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.” Just eight words that have been repeated enough in mutual fund marketing materials for investors to tune out their message; or perhaps they have chosen to ignore the most important of those eight words, the word NOT.

Investors continue to pour more more money into ETFs, even as they shift their focus away from riskier Emerging Markets and into more conservative bond ETFs. That’s the news from State Street Global Advisors, which just released its latest Snapshot report tracking ETF funds.

Fewer workers plan to use their tax refund to pay off bills, and more plan to use it for savings, indicating stronger faith in the economy, a survey of 3,900 people by CareerBuilder found.

Escalating global inflation is the biggest challenge for businesses struggle to recover from the recession, according to the latest Global Economic Conditions survey of 2,300 accountants by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Bankrate.com said there is a surprising amount of interest among investors in liquid CDs, step-up CDs, and bump-up CDs.