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It's the year's hottest initial public offering, but some wealth managers find themselves having a hard time recommending Facebook to their clients.

The performance benchmark for stocks in developing countries, the MSCI Emerging Market Index, has grown at almost 21% annually over the past three years.

Morningstar research finds that 50 mutual funds have stakes in either the A class or B class of Facebook. Among the largest holders are T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley also is the lead underwriter in the offering, which is expected to raise at least $5 billion and possibly as much as $10 billion.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that it saw increased 401(k) savings through its plan sponsors both in the fourth quarter and 2011 year, signaling a positive outlook for the tweaks it has made to its offerings and confidence in the overall economy.

FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Merrill Lynch to pay an investor $1.4 million in a case that called into question the value of the collateralized loan obligation investments the firm sold.

Investment bank Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group has launched DirectMarkets, a first-of-its-kind platform that directly links stock issuers with investors, in primary offerings of securities.

Alternative assets. Alternative styles. Absolute return. Those are the three bases of John Hancock Mutual Funds newly launched effort to set itself apart as, in itself, an alternative to larger mutual fund creators, marketers and managers.

For a brief moment last year, the exchange-traded fund held in greatest value by investors had nothing to do with the Standard and Poor's 500. Or stocks of publicly traded companies of any sort.

Bullion is big. ETFs are convenient. Since its inception in November 2004, the average annual return of State Street Gold Shares has been 18.72%. By comparison, the S&P 500 has returned half of 1% a year in that time.

Prudential Retirement is now offering J.P. Morgan SmartRetirement Target Date Strategies and Fidelity VIP (Variable Insurance Product) Freedom Funds in its line-up of target-date funds with a guaranteed lifetime income component.

The largest information industry transaction by private equity players was the purchase of GoDaddy. Com for $2.25 billion, according to investment bankers Berkery Noyes. Here's what was hot.

Organization wants to dispel 'conventional wisdom that it's a solution in search of a problem.'


BlackRock announced today that its iShares Exchange Traded Funds has launched five funds focused on commodity producers. The funds offer the benefit of access to companies involved in the production of commodities without the costs found in commodity ownership.

Sharing select personal details can help advisors win over prospects, one planner says at TD Ameritrade conference.

Ronald O'Hanley has emerged as an outspoken force inside Fidelity Investments, giving a speech on Thursday that touched on sex, drugs and revolution as he warned that young Americans face getting a raw deal from the U.S. retirement system.

FINRA has outlined its 2012 watch list of business and sales practices aimed at consumers, citing a challenging economic environment that would tempt investors to buy investments with promises of huge returns.

The U.S. Labor Department has removed a controversial part of its proposed 401(k) fee disclosure rule that would have required retirement plan providers to create a summary document, or "roadmap," of all their fees for employers.

Polaris Venture Partners will make a $4 million investment in Aria Retirement Solutions to help it expand its technology platform for independent advisors.

U.S. Bank acquired the units of Union Bank’s institutional trust business that focus on retirement plans, labor management trusts, and registered investment advisors,

Wall Street's own watchdog filed a complaint against Charles Schwab Corp., accusing the online brokerage giant of requiring customers to waive their rights to pursue certain legal action against the firm, a violation of industry rules.