Portfolio

WASHINGTON — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus on Thursday proposed to extend the Build America Bonds program for only one year in legislation he unveiled that would extend several expiring or expired bond and tax provisions.

Exchange-traded funds will continue on a strong, albeit somewhat scaled back, growth track, expanding assets by an average of 19% a year over the next five years through 2014, according to Financial Research Corp. Over the last five years, the annual growth rate has been 23%.

Margins of asset management firms have declined significantly in the past 10 years, according to a report from kasina. In 2000, operating margins stood at 39%. Today, they are 29%. And net margins, 27% 10 years ago, are now 20%.

Putnam will join USAA, Columbia Management, Vanguard and Upromise, who also run 529 plans through Nevada. Columbia also manages an advisor-sold plan.

The Unified Managed Account Exchange gives RIAs more control over product selection.

Thin supply of short-term holdings and low yields are pushing managers into complex, potentially risky and illiquid instruments.

Fixed-income money manager Cutwater Asset Management has entered into a strategic partnership with Tandem Global Partners, the New York firm announced today.

But there were also fewer hedge-fund launches, as investors continued to shun startups and smaller firms in favor of large, established players.

Despite the new rules that the SEC imposed on money market funds in January – or perhaps because of them – managers are challenged to find an adequate supply of investments. The scarcity of debt with a maturity of less than seven days, combined with low yields, is pushing money market fund managers into areas of the fixed income and cash management markets they previously would not seek out, The Wall Street Journal reports this morning.

Low rates on fixed annuities force advisors to branch out into life insurance sales, hitting a home run.