Investment products

After a large inflow the previous week, assets held in institutional money market funds decreased by $1.06 billion to $1.686 trillion for the week ending Aug. 22.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115.30 points Thursday to close at 13,057.46 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lost 20.27 points and 11.41 points, respectively.

Generation X and Y are more likely to look for lower risk alternatives than boomers and older generations.

The asset-management industry scored a victory when SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro abandoned her quest to impose tougher rules on money-market mutual funds, but some expect the celebration will be brief.

Here is the text of the statement by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro on money market mutual fund reform.

Mary Schapiro, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, canceled a vote on a proposal to tighten money-market fund rules amid opposition from fellow commissioners and a lobbying campaign by fund companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30.82 points Wednesday to close at 13,172.76 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 6.41 points and 0.32 points, respectively.

For the week ended Aug. 15, investors pulled an estimated $2.67 billion from funds that invest in U.S. stock mutual funds, substantially less than the $3.56 billion withdrawn the week before.

Steve Atkinson, "The Advisors' Coach," says investing in people, entrepreneurship and improved corporate efficiencies is a far cry from gambling and it's important that advisors and their clients appreciate the difference.

Index funds are "just slightly underperforming" their benchmarks because of their small expenses, according to a Lipper report.

The measure of success for Christopher Donahue's defense? That the SEC so far this year has not sought a showdown on reform.

Curian Capital has rolled out two alternative-focused strategies for separately managed accounts.

In a new survey, the CFP Board revealed just how pervasive the financial abuse of seniors has come to be. At the same time, the board is seeking new standards to help seniors - and all consumers - better understand which self-described financial advisors are truly out to serve their best interests.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 68.06 points Tuesday to close at 13,203.58 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lost 8.95 points and 4.96 points, respectively.

Russell Investments is planning to close its family of 25 passively managed ETFs. The firm will continue to operate the Russell Equity ETF.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shaved off 3.56 points Monday to close at 13,271.64 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 trimmed 0.38 points and 0.03 points, respectively.

Annuity sales in the second quarter of 2012 totaled $57 billion, down 8% from the year-ago quarter, according to LIMRA.

UBS AG is starting a unit aimed at quantitative hedge funds that combines prime brokerage and services from its direct execution trading business.

Starting a hedge fund is much different from launching other kinds of companies. Most significantly, there is almost no chance that you will be able to start this business out of a garage. No -- to get a hedge fund up and running, you need buckets and buckets of cash.

Closed-end fund assets increased $1.61B during Q2. Equity fund assets decreased by $1.5B to $96.21B, and bond fund assets increased by $3.11B to $153.39B.