Investment products

Six days after the Securities and Exchange Commission holds a roundtable discussion regarding money market funds and systemic risk, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) will host its own one-day money market fund summit.

Vanguard's Jack Bogle argues for more competition.

Tax-free municipal money market fund assets declined by $2.25 billion to $316.80 billion in the week ending April 11, representing a major acceleration of outflows from the previous week, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Some advisors are averse to even DISCUSSING the value of portfolio management, possibly believing that we all spend too much time talking as if financial planning and portfolio management are the same service--which they clearly are not.

March was the third month in a row that retail investors were net buyers of individual municipal bonds, and it also was the fifth consecutive month that mom-and-pop investors sold more shares of muni mutual funds than they purchased, according to the March Transparency Report published by BondDesk Group LLC.

More than a month following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, more and more institutional investment managers are beginning to label the country’s stock options as undervalued, with many seeing upside in the region.

“Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.” Just eight words that have been repeated enough in mutual fund marketing materials for investors to tune out their message; or perhaps they have chosen to ignore the most important of those eight words, the word NOT.

Bankrate.com said there is a surprising amount of interest among investors in liquid CDs, step-up CDs, and bump-up CDs.

They are the Preferred and Income Securities and the Focused Equity funds.

With advisors and investors focused on tax season, Ed Slott returns to financial planning with some quick answers on Roth IRAs, required minimum distributions, and what all this means before (and after) April 18.

While most of the U.S. continues to endure sluggish or retreating housing prices and foreclosures still remain a persistent blight on the economic landscape, ultra high net worth individuals continue to fork over huge sums to garner real estate in most of the world's most exclusive enclaves.

Franklin Templeton, Loomis Sayles and State Street will be the sub-advisors.

For investment managers, the capabilities most in demand this year from retirement plans, endowments and foundations will be global and emerging markets investing, hedge funds, private equity and real assets, according to the 2011 Consultant Search Forecast.

According to a Russell survey, enthusiasm for non-U.S. equities has declined.

Standard & Poor's said that U.S. corporate dividend increases surged up 27.8% in the first quarter of this year.

Tax-exempt money market funds saw only moderate outflows as investors yanked a mere $252.5 million in the week ended April 4, causing total net assets to dip slightly to $319.05 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

What portfolio management activities provide the MOST value for your time/money/energy/attention, and which activities provide the LEAST value for your time etc.?

Lots of strong returns, but many investors are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Equity funds net $1.2 billion.

The past few years have provided a stark illustration of the ability of markets to surprise. It may be that inflation is the next big economic challenge to make an unwelcome return. The limitations of the most popular inflation fighting vehicles are becoming too pronounced, and the risks from inflation are too real, for the status quo to continue to reign in portfolio construction.