Portfolio

WSJ's June 15 "Fund Track" column picks up on the continuing price wars among ETF providers, Fidelity, Vanguard, iShares, Van Eck and Schwab, notwithstanding.

Chief executives are feeling optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next 12 months for the first time since the second quarter of 2007, with CEOs of private companies with international operations being slightly more optimistic than those that are only domestic.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--Banks expect hybrid annuities with long-term-care riders to be the next hot product on brokerage platforms, as soon as product providers ramp up their offerings in this area, a Kehrer-Limra executive said.

From June 1 to June 5, advisors affiliated with Royal Alliance came together for NEC 2010 in Orlando, FL. During this educational conference, advisors heard Royal Alliance executives and industry experts speak on a variety of topics from retirement and estate planning to practice management and technology. Attendees also took advantage of valuable networking opportunities with their peers.Below are photo highlights from the event.

The San Francisco discount brokerage firm reported that its daily average client trades in May increased 14% from a year earlier and 17% from a month earlier.

A total of 102 funds of hedge funds closed in the first quarter, the seventh quarter in a row that fund liquidations exceeded new launches, according to Hedge Fund Research’s HFR Market Microstructure Industry Report.

https://news.fidelity.com/news/article.jhtml?guid=/FidelityNewsPage/pages/fidelity-muni-bonds-taxes&topic=investing-bonds-cds

Don's Miss Money Management Executive's JPMorgan News in This Week's Issue: http://www.mmexecutive.com/issues/18_23/jpmorgan-beefs-up-bond-fund-business-207063-1.html

A small handful of funds are making it easier for individual investors to invest in IPOs.

BB&T Corp.'s mutual fund family has had a dramatic gain in assets over the past year, and the bank's asset management arm is laying the groundwork for more expansion.