Portfolio

Many mutual funds geared toward a special type of socially responsible investing, green investing, are outpacing the Dow and the S&P 500, BusinessWeek reports. And given the environmentally conscious and alternative energy initiatives of the new president, valued at more than $80 billion, they could continue to outpace the general markets.

Long-term mutual funds took in $12.53 billion for the week ended July 29, the 20th straight week of inflows, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. Net purchases to equity and bond funds over the past five months are nearly $200 billion.

De Beers is considering offering a diamond exchange-traded fund to boost interest in the gems, since prices and production are both down, IndexUniverse.com reports.

Individual investors are regaining confidence in the stock market and increasingly taking investing into their own hands, a survey of 450 retail investors by online broker Zecco found.

Mutual, pension and hedge fund managers have been investing large quantities of cash in the market in recent weeks, and while the pace of their buying has been slowing, it appears to indicate their faith in a continued rally, Reuters reports.

Five years in the making, it appears that Strong Funds investors who were harmed by mutual fund market timing may soon receive their share of the $154 million settlement.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. has partnered with Delta Data Software to add enhancements to its mutual fund database used by broker/dealers and other distributors to retrieve important information.

Fidelity Investments has joined the growing chorus of fund companies, brokerages and regulators warning investors about potential outsized losses in leveraged exchange-traded funds due to the effect of compounding.

Nearly one in five advisers think the financial crisis will last another five years, and 33% think the American way of life has been irrevocably changed for years to come, a survey of advisers from firms of all sizes by Phoenix Marketing International found.

Natixis Global Associates has introduced a multi-strategy, absolute-return fund in partnership with AlphaSimplex Group, the Natixis ASG Diversifying Strategies Fund.