Portfolio

The trend towards younger target-date fund participants is due to the fact that new employees are more likely to be automatically enrolled in their employer’s 401(k) plan, where target-date funds are often the default option, the study said.

Despite the fact small-cap stocks have tumbled recently as greater economic uncertainty increased, the average domestic small cap mutual fund continues to outperform. So how come some observerrs are skeptical?

The growing investor acceptance of taxable municipal bonds over the past year appears to have hit a stumbling block.

The Department of Labor issued an interim final rule on fee disclosure in 401(k) plans Thursday morning. The final Rule 408(b)2 relieves plan sponsors and their fund providers and consultants from having to share and store written documentation on disclosure obligations.

Schwab Charitable reported Thursday it received record annual contributions to its donor-advised fund in fiscal year 2010, driven by the surge in the stock market last year and the conversion of private foundations to donor-advised funds that were less costly and time consuming.

Morningstar says that Hartford needs to cut fees more to truly compete.

Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have introduced a proposal to reform the federal estate tax, which temporarily expired this year but is slated to increase to up to 55 percent next year for estates over $1 million.

Affluent investors ended the first half of the year on a sour note, their confidence slipping seven points in June, to minus-12 on Spectrem Group's Affluent Investor Confidence Index, but advisers say that falling confidence presents an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

Despite investor concerns about a global economic recovery, BlackRock's Bob Doll and Deutsche Bank's Ben Pace are optimistic.

The San Diego-based company, which announced it was going public in June, hopes to expand its network of financial advisors.