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When it comes to bond funds — or any mutual funds — past performance is not the best way to analyze them. Instead, S&P Capital IQ Analyst Todd Rosenbluth suggests investors should consider the credit risk of the underlying bonds, as well as a fund’s duration, i.e. price sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

NYSE Euronext U.S. stock volume declined 10.6% in December. Meanwhile, trading volume gained in European stocks, as well as futures and options contracts, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said.

PIMCO is continuing to build out its active equities platform with the launch of two new funds: the Dividend and Income Builder Fund and the EqS Dividend Fund.

Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ research unit said it has developed a method of forecasting negative and positive earnings surprises of a magnitude of 5% or larger.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards -- focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

Know what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

Investors pulled more than $125 billion from mutual funds that invest long-term in stocks last year, according to the latest data released by the Investment Company Institute. Of that, $5.2 billion got pulled in the week leading up to New Year's Eve.

Exchange-traded funds have grabbed much of the spotlight among institutional investors, in the past decade.

RS Investments has named Matthew H. Scanlan chief executive officer. He was previously president and CEO of Renaissance Institutional Management, a subsidiary of hedge fund manager Renaissance Technologies. Previously, he was head of Barclays Global Investors' institutional business and a portfolio manager at The Northern Trust Co.

Morningstar is no longer just looking backwards-focusing on three-, five- and 10-year returns. The fund ratings giant is now looking ahead to the future, as well.

Americans of all political leanings are showing signs of increased anxiety about having enough money to make ends meet during retirement, a recent survey commissioned by the Americans for Secure Retirement found.

A new Wells Fargo retirement study focusing on affluent Americans reveals that women are much less confident than men when it comes to their retirement savings.

Did you have the foresight to invest heavily for your clients in Pacific Investment Management Co.'s 25-year zero-coupon U.S. Treasury exchange-traded bond fund, one year ago?

It's been almost as longstanding a practice in the regulatory field as using the phrase "left to pursue other interests" when a company asks one of its top executives to leave.

Know what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

Amidst the worried debate over whether the United States will tumble into recession this year, market watchers agree on one thing: volatility is here to stay.

William Polk Carey, founder of investment management firm W.P. Carey & Co., died on Jan. 2 at age 81, the company announced.

The Internal Revenue Service has increased its audits of taxpayers at upper-income levels.

Putnam Investments is laying off 78 employees, or 4.4% of its workforce. The layoffs, primarily in operations, follow a 3% decline in assets under management, from $121 billion in 2010, to $117 billion in 2011.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an Illinois-based investment adviser with using LinkedIn and other social media channels to attempt to sell $500 million in fictitious securities.