Portfolio

The coming year is shaping up to be a fresh start for alternative mutual fund shop Pyxis Capital.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14.76 points to 12,962.81 Monday as investors reacted to a flurry of mixed economic reports at home and abroad.

Chicago-based RIA HighTower has lured away HSW Advisors, a three-man team overseeing more than $1.4 billion for 50 clients, from Merrill Lynch’s private banking and investment group.

Jackson National Life Insurance Company, a purveyor of variable annuities, is looking to offer its advisors and their retail clients access to alternative investments.

Russell Investments has introduced a series of indexes designed to allow fund managers to control volatility in their portfolios.

A new investment management shop has opened in Palm Beach, Fla., dubbed Crest Investment Partners LLC.

Nasdaq OMX and risk analytics developer Axioma have launched a family of indexes that will give investors exposure to commodity spot prices, through the use of stocks.

For many planners with high-net-worth minimums for their clients, target-date funds don’t make sense for a variety of reasons. But in the right circumstances, they can be helpful tools.

Wasatch Funds has launched what it touts as “one of the few no-load open-end mutual funds focused exclusively on frontier and smaller emerging market countries,” including Africa and Southeast Asia.

The top concern was over the quality and selection of investment options in traditional plans, with over half of RIAs surveyed naming this as their chief issue.