Portfolio

Banks, losing fees elsewhere, are looking to investment services to make up the difference.

The high-yield market has been going great guns this year, but there’s a new caveat for those kicking the tires: a slower-than-expected recovery.

Fixed-income and commodity ETFs move up as equity prices slide.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus on Thursday proposed to extend the Build America Bonds program for only one year in legislation he unveiled that would extend several expiring or expired bond and tax provisions.

"Moving away form AAA ratings is sacrilege," protests Peter Crane of Crane Data.

Fearful of how a change in ratings will help them market their funds among investors, money fund managers are chafing at the idea of Moody’s’ proposed new ratings. Investors are used to looking for AAA-rated money market funds, and it will take some time for them to get to a scale ranging from MF1 to MF4, money managers tell The Wall Street Journal.

WASHINGTON — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus on Thursday proposed to extend the Build America Bonds program for only one year in legislation he unveiled that would extend several expiring or expired bond and tax provisions.

Exchange-traded funds will continue on a strong, albeit somewhat scaled back, growth track, expanding assets by an average of 19% a year over the next five years through 2014, according to Financial Research Corp. Over the last five years, the annual growth rate has been 23%.

Margins of asset management firms have declined significantly in the past 10 years, according to a report from kasina. In 2000, operating margins stood at 39%. Today, they are 29%. And net margins, 27% 10 years ago, are now 20%.

Putnam will join USAA, Columbia Management, Vanguard and Upromise, who also run 529 plans through Nevada. Columbia also manages an advisor-sold plan.