Portfolio

Citi and Bank of America Merrill Lynch continued to vie for the top underwriting position in the municipal bond industry, according to mid-year rankings from Thomson Reuters.

NYSE Technologies and Markit Group said Thursday they will consolidate their pools of data on trading in over-the-counter stocks in Europe.

Sales of fixed annuities rose in recent months despite a negative spread with CDs.

The turbulence that’s battered financial markets in recent weeks reduced the volume of municipal bonds sold in June to the lowest level that month has seen in 10 years.

Thesis Flexible is an alternative strategy fund that primarily uses hedge fund strategies and is already on the Fidelity and Schwab platforms.

TD Ameritrade and Vanguard Group have added the Thesis Flexible Fund, an alternative strategies fund, to their respective platforms. Grand Distribution Services of Milwaukee distributes the fund, managed by Thesis Fund Mgmt. of New York. The fund uses hedging strategies and is managed by the Thesis team with Stephen Roseman, Thesis Fund Mgmt. chief executive officer, as senior portfolio manager.

Though world gross domestic product shrank in 2009, high-net-worth individuals managed to almost make up for 2008 losses, according to the Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini 14th annual "World Wealth Report."

For employers with 401(k) plans, auto enrollment is growing, and target-date funds are an increasingly popular default option. But concern is building over what happens when the two trends meet.

For three days in late June, advisors, industry executives and fund managers descended on Chicago for the 2010 Morningstar Investment Conference. The audience received insight on the flash crash, international investing and the impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Industry bigwigs, including Vanguard's William McNabb, were among the speakers. (See part 1 here.)

The number of exchange-traded funds has surged the past few years, bringing a unique business opportunity to Russell Indexes in Tacoma.