Investment products

CLS Investments, an Omaha, Nen., based third party money manager with more than $7 billion in assets, promoted Todd Clarke to CEO as part of a series of executive changes.

"We provide all the tools a broker needs to thrive," said Russell Gebhard, president of Sovereign Investment Group in Houston."If the advisor is successful, it's more than likely the clients will be, too."

Cynthia Egan, head of retirement plan services at T. Rowe Price, is retiring on December 31.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has decided to increase its minimum equity trade fees to $75 from $50 following a year of research on how its pricing fits the market.

Even as a new video has brought negative attention to Mitt Romney's campaign, a new poll finds financial advisors still think he's the best pick to lead the country.

In 2013, asset managers will face the challenges of volatile markets, ramped up regulations, increased need for capital preservation, and a general tendency towards risk aversion. Yet even in a globally compressed economy, there are pockets of underlying opportunities and under-served investors. From our friends at Ceruilli, here are trends for advisors (and their clients) to watch in 2013.

For the week ended Sept. 12, investors pulled an estimated $2.75 billion from funds that invest long-term in U.S. stocks, marking the eighth consecutive week of outflows.

A greater number of Americans believe that their personal finances and the economy are in better shape than they were a year ago, according to a new survey from a unit of JPMorgan Chase.

Investors poured $26.4 billion into taxable-bond funds and another $5.6 billion into municipal-bond funds last month, according to data from Morningstar.

ING U.S., the holding company for ING U.S.'s core Retirement, Investment Management and Insurance businesses, has expanded the roles and responsibilities for some members of its executive team.

Even as increased liquidity in Europe and the United States has boosted investors' outlook, sending stocks to four-year highs, the U.S. dollar has suffered. All the sectors of the S&P 500 have become much more sensitive to fluctuations in the value of the dollar over the last three years, but by looking at correlations, investors can see which sectors are most likely to benefit, according to Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.

Equity mutual fund investors pulled $1.3 billion from their accounts (their fifth straight week of outflows), while equity ETF investors made a U-turn from the previous week's withdrawal numbers and added a $12.1 billion to their accounts for the week ended Sept. 12.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group has named a former Fidelity senior official as its new head of global institutional services.

While actions by the U.S. Federal Reserve could hold promising results, international monetary policy announcements have held less and less power this year, according to a new economic and market outlook update from Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management.

Investors with at least $25 million in net worth are boosting their exposure to alternative investments. At the same time, these UHNW households are keeping some money in familiar territory: tax-free municipal bonds. The Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based consulting firm, reached those conclusions in recent online and mail surveys.

Investors are bucking the general trend of gloominess pervading the national audience, sending stocks to their highest level in four years last year, and if history is any guide, prices could soar even higher by the end of the year. But what do confident investors know that pessimistic voters don't?

Pacific Investment Management Co., which manages the world's biggest bond fund, predicted the global economy will slow next year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied up another 69.07 points Tuesday to close at 13,323.36 - its highest level since December 2007. The Nasdaq inched up 0.51 points to finish at 3,104.53 while the S&P 500 added 4.48 points to finish at 1,433.56.

Mark Fetting, CEO and chairman of asset manager Legg Mason, Inc., will step down at the start of next month, the Baltimore, Md.-based firm disclosed Tuesday.

Advisors who don't feel like wading through reports on 9,000 hedge funds may feel more comfortable scanning information on about 40, especially if those funds have been expertly screened. Envestnet has announced a hedge fund research alliance with Fund Evaluation Group.