Investments

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28 points to finish at 12,980.30 Thursday while tech stocks lifted the Nasdaq 22 points to end at 2,988.97.

The much-awaited opening of trading in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Total Return ETF arrived this morning. By noon, 345,800 shares had been traded. Missing from the ringing of the bell at the New York Stock Exchange: the fund’s manager, Bill Gross.

Wedbush Securities has launched a trading platform provider that the firm says will dramatically speed up trades for fund managers and other institutional investors, as well as give them better control over their transaction costs.

For some Dow components (and their investors), February was a heartbreaker. Here’s an interactive slide show highlighting the 5 worst-performing Dow component stocks for February 2012.

The Principal Financial Group has entered into a definitive agreement to buy a 60 percent stake in Claritas Investments, Ltd., a Sao Paulo-based mutual fund and asset management company with more than $1.8 billion in assets under management.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management yesterday unveiled two funds today: a managed futures fund and a short duration income fund. These launches follow the launch of a rising dividend growth fund on Monday.

The municipal market for the month of February continued its upswing in new issuance of long-term bonds from one year earlier.

Fidelity Investments has launched an initiative dubbed “Thinking Big,” for publicly promoting the research of its investment analysts and experts. The firm will launch the initiative in conjunction with its sponsorship of the 2012 TED conference, an annual event that brings together global thought leaders.

Bank of America has added a new investment offering to its Merrill Edge program for mass-affluent investors.

The shares finished trading on their first day worth $99.96. Altogether, 550,375 shares changed hands on the NYSE Arca electronic exchange.

For some companies, there was a lot to love about February. Here’s an interactive slide show highlighting the 5 best-performing Dow component stocks for February 2012.

Bill Gross and his team of bond specialists at Pacific Investment Management Company built the Total Return Fund into the world’s largest mutual fund, with more than a quarter-billion dollars in assets. Can he (and they) repeat the trick, with a Total Return exchange-traded fund?

We applaud diversifying into different asset classes, but memories of recent losses are keeping too many people out of the equity markets.

Stocks are beating bonds, small caps are outperforming large caps and high beta is leading low beta.

Even better, REITs may be on an acquisition streak this year

It's often more beneficial in the wealth creation process to go against the grain and do what is uncomfortable

State Street Global Advisors has launched two equity exchange-traded funds designed to track MSCI Global Equity Indices, with one focusing on emerging markets and the other widely covering both developed and developing countries.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 53 points to close at 12,952.07 Wednesday while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 shed 20 points and 6.50 points, respectively, in the final trading day of the month.

After a strong start in February, domestic stock mutual funds saw cash outflows of $322 million in the most recent weekly statistics.

Fidelity Investments has launched an initiative dubbed “Thinking Big,” for publicly promoting the research of its investment analysts and experts. The firm will launch the initiative in conjunction with its sponsorship of the 2012 TED conference, an annual event that brings together global thought leaders.