Investment insights

Amid growing economic worries and a shift in investing strategy, advisors say they are bullish about their own firms' profits and assets under management.

The result of the upcoming Presidential election will have little impact on investors, according to Andrew Mehalko, President of AM Wealth Management.

In spite of all the worries about investor sentiment amidst a sluggish recovery, assets in mutual funds and ETFs both hit record highs in August, with $8.8 trillion and $1.2 trillion, respectively., according to Cerulli.

Investor confidence dropped slightly in the third quarter of 2012, according to the John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index, released Wednesday by John Hancock Financial Services.

ImpactAssets, a nonprofit financial services company, introduced its annual database of fund managers who invest for maximum social, environmental and financial impact.

Based on conversations with more than 20,000 professionals, a new white paper proposes five natural starting places where planners can look for members of the 80 million-person-strong Generation Y, which will account for the next generation of financial planning clients.

Vanguard's Gus Sauter is finishing up a quarter century with the giant investment company. In those years, he has been a big part of market structure changes. In the first part of a multiple part Q&A, Sauter explains how he views those changes.

Financial advisors and investors should brace themselves for increased market volatility brewing for after the November election as the U.S. heads for tax increases and budget cuts at the end of the year, according to new research from Cetera Financial Group.

Vanguard Group Inc., the biggest U.S. mutual-fund firm, attracted more money from investors in the first nine months of 2012 than it has in any full calendar year in its 38-year history.

David Rubenstein, co-founder of the buyout firm Carlyle Group LP, said ordinary savers may someday be able to invest with firms like his, a business that so far has been limited to wealthy individuals and institutions.

Two suspects, Jay Jeffrey Nieto and Wilmer Cadiz, were arrested after a tip led investigators to the $10 million booty stolen from the home of Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, the Los Angeles Times reports.

After 28 years in the Social Security Administration, Jack Butler, an advisor with HTLF Investment Services, takes his knowledge to the bank channel to educate clients on what they can expect from the program.

Increasing stability and high levels of per-capita growth in far-flung global economies have created investment opportunities for intrepid investors.

The director of financial planning at R.W. Baird, Tim Steffen, discusses the upcoming elections, what changes to the fiscal landscape are possible, and how advisors should steer clients through the uncertainties and tax issues.

Investors seek higher yield in a crowded dividend market, analysts discuss whether this is a good investment or if the market is a bubble that will burst.

An aging population and government inaction challenge Japan's faltering economy.

Indexed annuities have gained popularity while variable annuities have softened, as the players on the buy and sell side change.

Planning firms find that investment committees can help build consensus and explain strategies to clients.

If Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities are added to an equity-based portfolio, what is their impact on returns and volatility?

Writing call options is a time-consuming tactic, but may deliver respectable returns in a sideways stock market.