Portfolio

Build America Bonds have begun to reshape long-term taxable bond indexes that until now included little state and local government debt.

Hedge funds finished the volatile first half with modest declines. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index lost 0.81% in June, more than offsetting the gains in the first five months of the year to leave the index down 0.18% for the first half of 2010.

If the latest version of financial reform becomes law as expected, banks would lose a lucrative but wildly unpredictable source of profits scaling back so-called alternative investments over the next several years.

In the perennial debate over active versus passive investing, FundQuest calls a draw.

It might seem strange to bring up reverse mortgages in a space dedicated to the lives of Baby Boomers.

Closed-end municipal bond funds continue to enjoy shelter from the turbulence plaguing the rest of the sector.

BlackRock has reduced the fee on its iShares Comex Gold Trust exchange-traded fund by more than a third, to 25 basis points. The firm apparently is tossing its hat into the ETF fee wars started by Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard.

While using technology, advisors expect aggressive growth over the next five years, according to a Schwab study.

Robert S. Matthews worked for Smith Barney and Citigroup for the past 25 years in its global private banking, wealth management and family office services units. He replaced Kevin McCabe, who was president and chief executive officer since Fieldpoint was founded in 2008.

Prompted by a shift toward defined contribution plans and regulatory changes, European fund managers and their asset servicing providers will increase their spending on portfolio management and accounting systems to $787 million by 2012, from about $646 million in 2009, according to a report released by Aite Group.