Investment products

About 35% of women report using a financial advisor and another 35% who don't use an advisor would consider doing so, according to a new survey from Prudential Financial.

Custom target-date strategies will hold 22% of 401(k) target-date assets by 2016, or $218 billion, according to research from Cerulli Associates. That will be a nearly four-fold increase from the 2011 asset level of $46.4 billion.

Throughout 2012, high-yield muni funds have seen some of the best total returns among bond funds, with consistent inflows. Still, some industry watchers warn of large risks for the sector.

Consolidated U.S. equity volumes are at four-plus year lows, according to Raymond James Research. Volume in July was 11% down from June and 13% from a year ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 42.76 points Friday to end at 13,207.95 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 2.22 points and 3.07 points, respectively.

There has been an ongoing discussion surrounding hedge funds and their ability - or lack thereof - to create jobs. Do they really have the capacity to help the job market? And if they do, what jobs are hedge funds producing?

Carlyle Group LP agreed to buy TCW Group Inc. from Societe Generale SA in a deal that will give TCW's management and employees a 40% stake.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a proposal Thursday aimed at increasing protection for retail investors who trade municipal bonds online.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded 290 municipal issuers from April 1 through June 30, the most for any quarter since 2000, led by cities and school districts still recovering from the longest recession since the 1930s.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed off 10.45 points Thursday to finish at 13,165.19 while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 7.39 points and 0.58 points, respectively.

A new white paper from Forward Management LLC, San Francisco, concludes that diversifying portfolios with managed futures may enable investors to earn better risk-adjusted returns.

Operating margins in the global asset management industry have recovered from their 2009 lows, at a median 32% in 2011, yet they remain below pre-crisis levels, according to new research by U.S. Institute, McLagan and Casey, Quirk & Associates.

US ETF assets totaled $1.19 trillion as of July 31, 2012 - up 13.8% year-to-date, according to the latest ETF Snapshot report from State Street Global Advisors.

The tax-exempt market ended the day mostly unchanged as market participants said August vacations have slowed trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 7.04 points Wednesday to close at 13,175.64. The Nasdaq lost 4.61 points to end at 3,011.25 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.87 points to finish at 1,402.22.

Seventy-five percent of variable annuity buyers, 86% of indexed annuity buyers and 86% of traditional fixed annuity buyers reported being satisfied with their annuities.

Portfolio managers from Huntington Asset Advisors' US Equity Rotation Strategy ETF discuss their top picks in IT and health care.

As equity markets sputter along at an uneven pace, many investors are looking at alternatives to help manage volatility and potentially generate more predictable income. One alternative investment has been commercial real estate, which during the late '90s and early '00s was an attractive asset class.

Investors steered an estimated $17.1 billion into exchange-traded funds and notes in July, bringing their total investment in the products to $93 billion for the year.

The Bush-era tax cuts were extended by the House of Representatives, but advisors are not likely to see any clarity on the matter for some time.