Portfolio

The PFM Group announced Thursday that it has acquired an advisory firm in Washington State as part of its continued expansion in the Northwest region.

Tax-exempt money market funds had outflows of $314.7 million in the week ended June 24, decreasing total net assets to $261.48 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Municipal bond mutual funds that report flows weekly recorded $4.53 billion in outflows for the week of June 26, Lipper FMI numbers showed, after $2.22 billion of outflows reported the previous week.

Investors overreacted to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s comments that the central bank could reduce monthly bond purchases, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein said.

Bond managers from DoubleLine Capital LP’s Jeffrey Gundlach to Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross are telling investors the worst may be over for Treasury bonds after 10-year yields rose to a 22-month high.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. agreed to sell its U.K. variable-annuity business to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for about $285 million in cash.

Hartford Funds has appointed three new advisor consultants to support its regional growth.

OppenheimerFunds, the U.S. investment fund that manages about $208 billion, has sued Doux SA in New York, claiming it’s owed almost $74 million by the French poultry producer placed under administration.

Last year, global asset managers experienced their highest operating margins since 2007, according to a new survey by consultant Casey Quirk and research shop McLagan.

With a new managed accounts platform, Merrill Lynch advisors will be able to turn to one website instead of five to answer a single client question – “How am I doing?”