Investments

Retirement plan provider ShareBuilder 401k has expanded its All-ETF 401(k) platform with five new funds.

In the wake of The Hartford’s recent decision to place its individual annuity business “into a runoff,” Edward Jones this week has stopped offering the firm’s annuities and has suspended sales of new life insurance policies and retirement plans pending the eventual resolution of the uncertainty surrounding these businesses.

While the municipal bond market is still strong, experts agree that increasing local financial strain makes the landscape more complex.

The iShares MSCI Frontier 100 Index Fund will have regional exposure to countries such as Croatia, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam with sector exposure to energy, financial and telecommunication services companies. The ETF will also bet on futures, options and swap contracts.

Santa Fe, N.M.-based Teucrium Trading, LLC unveiled the Teucrium Agricultural Fund, which is being touted as the first fund to offer exposure to agricultural commodities in a single fund of exchange-traded funds.

The world’s largest asset manager – with $3.5 trillion under its auspices as of Dec. 31 -- still is the only firm with shares of any sort listed on the rival to the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Santa Fe, N.M.-based Teucrium Trading, LLC today unveiled the Teucrium Agricultural Fund, which is being touted as the first fund to offer exposure to agricultural commodities in a single fund of exchange-traded funds.

Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. has promoted Jamie Kosharek to southeast regional director for the Financial Institutions Division.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 43.90 points to finish at 13,197.73 Tuesday with most of the losses coming in the last couple hours of trading.

Financial services firms, including mutual fund managers, admitted that they invited negative public perception by their actions, or inactions, according to the 2012 Makovsky Wall Street Reputation Study.

iShares has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a frontier market exchange-traded fund.

Aston Asset Management, LP has promoted Mark Kim to managing director, Southeast Region where he will be responsible for external sales. Kim has been with Aston for seven years.

Dallas, Texas-based Pyxis Capital, L.P. has launched the Pyxis Natural Resources Fund to invest all of its assets in the Ascendant Natural Resources Master Fund, which is managed by Ascendant Advisors, LLC.

J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services said that it has been appointed by Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC to provide custody and exchange-traded fund transfer agency services to its newly launched Yorkville High Income master limited partnerships ETF.

Horizon Investments has launched a no-load actively-managed mutual fund that invests in exchange-traded funds.

Many banks were aggressive buyers of municipal bonds in 2011, seeing value in high relative tax-exempt yields and stepping in to make direct purchases of debt.

Peter Graham is the head of Product Development and Marketing at New York-based Mirae Asset Global Investments (USA), an arm of an Asian financial services firm that tries to provide investors in the United States with access to investments in emerging markets.

OTC Markets Group said its net income increased 69 percent in 2011, on a revenue jump of 18 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average stormed up 160.90 points to 13,241.63 Monday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated the central bank might continue easing its monetary policy to support the economy if the nation’s high unemployment rate remains unchanged.

J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services today said that it has been appointed by Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC to provide custody and exchange traded fund transfer agency services to its newly launched Yorkville High Income master limited partnerships ETF.