Investments

On August 10, 2012, U.S. debt yields put you asleep. But you better be on your toes, with the adventure involved in emerging market bonds.

Global investors are betting on a short-term bounce in equities, boosted by expectations that the European Central Bank will engage in so-called quantitative easing by the year end, a Bank of America Corp. survey showed.

Howard C. Greene, the lead portfolio manager for the John Hancock Bond Fund, has just passed the 10-year milestone at the helm of the $1.4 billion fund.

The Value Line Asset Allocation Fund has been added to the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource Select List. It's one of seven asset allocation funds among the 23 third-party funds selected for the "additional fund categories" section of the OneSource Select List.

Money-market fund companies obtained permission to support 155 of their funds during the financial turmoil of 2007 and 2008, and six more funds got the same go- ahead since the crisis, according to a list provided to Congress by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bond fund sales grew at a record pace with $350 billion in net inflows during the first half of 2012, according to Strategic Insight, a New York-based research firm. The trend is most dramatic in Europe, where investors are migrating to high-yield, emerging and global debt, according to the firm.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 38.52 points to close at 13,169.43 - ending a six-day winning streak. The S&P 500 also trimmed 1.76 points to finish at 1,404.11 and the Nasdaq inched up 1.66 points.

In the first half of 2012, tons of cash flowed out of non-qualified annuities, according to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.

Bond fund sales grew at a record pace during the first half of 2012, according to Strategic Insight. Equity funds recorded net redemptions in aggregate.

Money-market fund companies obtained permission to support 155 of their funds during the financial turmoil of 2007 and 2008, and six more funds got the same go- ahead since the crisis, according to a list provided to Congress by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Value Line Asset Allocation Fund has been added to the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource Select List. The fund is ranked in Lipper's top 12% for the 10-year period.

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.

Setting up a mutual fund in China or India may be appealing to U.S. fund companies because of the growing affluence and high savings rates in those countries. But it is a long and multi-faceted process.

The last decade has been rough for the mutual fund industry. This means boards of directors must have the tools for overseeing compliance and take on the oversight.

Morningstar has unveiled a medal count for the 106 funds covered under its new Morningstar Analyst Ratings, with five funds garnering Gold; 22 earning Silver, and 39 netting Bronze. Rounding out the rankings, 38 funds receiving Neutral ratings and two received negative.

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.

On August 13, 2012, Executive Briefings.