Portfolio

Forty-two percent of hedge fund managers became bearish on stocks in August, up markedly from 27% who were pessimistic on equities in July, according to a survey by BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research. This is the largest percentage of bearish hedge fund managers in a year.

Nasdaq OMX Group said a London broker is installing software from its SMARTS subsidiary to monitor trading activity across a series of derivatives markets for potential abuses.

Exchange-traded funds, a relatively cheap and tax efficient way for individual investors to invest in equities while maintaining a degree of diversification in portfolios, are becoming more popular among wealthier investors and their advisors.

The vast majority of retail advisers now use alternative products or strategies for their clients-but that number is a bit misleading, a new study finds.

Despite recent volatility, UBS analyst says investors should buck up and “stay the course,” not shifting their allocation away from equities.

The spike in market activity and volatility spurred by the downgrade of U.S. debt, the debt-ceiling contratemps in Congress and the European sovereign debt overhang did not drive overall trading volume to record levels in August.

The spike in market activity and volatility spurred by the downgrade of U.S. debt, the debt-ceiling contratemps in Congress and the European sovereign debt overhang did not drive overall trading volume to record levels in August.

PIMCO has launched the PIMCO Credit Absolute Return Fund, a go-anywhere type of fixed income fund that will employ some hedging strategies, including shorting and credit default swap derivatives, and be managed by Mark Kiesel.

In Part Two of this series on China, I’ll look at the massive build out within China and see if this fixed investment boom is sustainable. If the building boom ends, it could cause a worldwide economic slowdown.

The analysts at Standard & Poor’s, who have pegged the U.S. economy’s growth rate at a paltry 2% for 2012, say that advisors and investors might find some value in steel stocks and ETFs.