Investment funds

Hedge funds got less bullish on gold for the seventh time in eight weeks as the U.S. economy strengthens and inflation fails to accelerate, driving prices to the biggest annual drop in more than three decades.

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced for a second week, heading toward its biggest annual gain since 1997.

Emerging-market stocks advanced, led by the biggest rally in Turkey’s benchmark index in more than three months, amid speculation political tension in the country may ease.

For all the losses on Treasuries this year, demand for U.S. government debt remains stronger than before the financial crisis.

Pacific Investment Management Co. and BlackRock Inc. are set to take over Eike Batista’s failed oil ambitions as creditors accept losses as deep as 99 percent on $5.8 billion of debt in return for ownership stakes.

Outflows, weak supply, rising interest rates, and mediocre returns are forecast for the municipal market as it prepares to ring in 2014 — in other words: more of the same.

Moore Capital Management LP, the hedge-fund firm run by billionaire Louis Moore Bacon, offered positions to money managers at SAC Capital Advisors LP, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Fidelity Investments, the world’s second-biggest mutual-fund company, said Ramona Persaud on Jan. 1 will take over management of two dividend growth funds that collectively manage almost $10 billion.

Municipal debt tied to real-estate development is set to be the best-performing part of the $3.7 trillion state and local-bond market this year as an improving housing market boosts the securities’ earnings.

Outflows, weak supply, rising interest rates, and mediocre returns are forecast for the municipal market as it prepares to ring in 2014 — in other words: more of the same.

Leading Indicators in U.S. Rose More Than Forecast in November

Pimco Says Growth Abroad May Lift ‘Not Stellar’ Asia Economy

John Bogle on Founding Mutual Fund Giant Vanguard

Omers Pension Names Michael Latimer New CEO as Nobrega Retires

While the landscape for low-cost fund options for do-it-yourselfers is expanding, John Bogle, founder and retired CEO of the Vanguard Group, believes DIY product offerings are too often inappropriate for long-term investors, who are at risk of being led astray.

Quiet and peaceful Valley Forge-Pa. is not a place where one would expect to find one of the most successful financial businesses in history — a far cry from the hurry and shuffle of Wall Street. But Vanguard's home there speaks volumes about its ability to maintain its reputation as the lowest-cost provider of mutual funds and ETFs since John Bogle founded the company in 1974.

The independent broker-dealer got into hot water over unsuitable fund sales, according to FINRA.

Are these tax-efficient vehicles the best way for your clients to donate to charitable causes?

Attracted by high returns and low costs, investors continue to pour dollars into Vanguard and other equity index funds.

Breaking out of the traditional allocation model to include a much broader range of investment categories and using relative strength principals to reallocate frequently may be one way to achieve stronger results for clients.