Portfolio

The fixed investment mandates of mutual funds and the pressures put on portfolio managers to deliver short-term gains take a head-turning toll on gains. Just take a look at the 20% annualized gains of Berkshire Hathaway over its 45 years of existence.

Long-term mutual funds gained another $10.97 billion in sales in the week ended Feb. 24, the Investment Company Institute said. Sales over the past 50 weeks have been consistently positive and near half a trillion, or $487 billion.

It’s impossible to completely protect against inflation but some old asset classes, and one new product, can help.

Merrill Lynch’s high account minimums could banish many BofA clients to a call center, taking their advisors’ main source of production with them.

But, even a few bankruptcies can set a bad precedent.

Royal Bank of Canada’s wealth management division reported net income of $213 million for the first quarter ended Jan. 31, up 72% from the $91 million from a year earlier, partly due to higher fee-based client assets and some accounting adjustments.

In the face of the shrinking asset management landscape and soaring distribution costs, not to mention the home-office centralization of brokerage firms’ investment choices, fund companies need highly accomplished national accounts teams, according to a new kasina report, “Excellence in Distribution: National Accounts.”

An event Wednesday asked how we can move from turbulence to transformation economically and in terms of gender equity. And the answer seems to be clear: by including women.

According to a survey, a majority of advisors say clients want financial planning advice.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expanding its New York office staff of 360 people by 33, or nearly 9%, in an effort to better regulate hedge funds and brokerages. The SEC will hire 18 additional people in enforcement and 15 in examinations.