Investments

Investors pulled more than $125 billion out of mutual funds that invest long-term in stocks last year, according to the latest data released by the Investment Company Institute. Of that, $5.2 billion got pulled in the week leading up to New Year’s Eve.

A pair of conflicting domestic economic reports combined with more unsettling news from Europe left stocks largely unchanged Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to only pick up 21 points to close at 12,418.42.

Long-term mutual funds were hit with $2.62 billion in outflows the week ended Dec. 28, the Investment Company Institute said Wednesday. This was up from outflows of $1.87 billion the week ended Dec. 21.

Morningstar announced its Fund Manager of the Year Awards, with the top honors going to portfolio managers at Fidelity Investments, Artisan and Tweedy, Browne.

Morningstar on Wednesday announced its Fund Manager of the Year Awards, with the top honors for the fixed income category going to portfolio managers at Fidelity Investments, Artisan and Tweedy, Browne.

Did you have the foresight to invest heavily for your clients in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s 25-year zero coupon U.S. Treasury exchange-traded bond fund, one year ago?

The operators of the Chicago Board Options Exchange said its futures exchange achieved record volume in 2011, based on its fear index.

If you had the foresight to invest heavily for your clients in Pimco's 25-year zero coupon U.S. Treasury exchange-traded bond fund last year, they would have realized a 51.9% return on their investment. The fund was the best-performing exchange-traded fund in 2011.

Examining the wisdom of using exchange-traded funds to weather macroeconomic headwinds.

Investors who look in the right places can still find companies with accelerating revenues and profits.

Investors wasted no time getting 2012 off to a strong start Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average stormed up 180 points, or 1.5%, to finish at 12,397.38 with stocks from a variety of industries benefiting from the buying frenzy.

The best-performing mutual funds of 2011 invested in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks—putting utility, real estate investment trust, health care and consumer staple funds at the top of the heap.

Hedge funds will take in record net new assets in 2012, predicts consultancy Agecroft Partners, based on interviews with more than 2,000 institutional investors.

2011 was a tumultuous year, one that left most industry executives deeply uncertain about the future. The following predictions are meant to provide the industry with 10 key insights that should help clarify some of these uncertainties.

Hedge funds will take in record net new assets in 2012, predicts consultancy Agecroft Partners, based on interviews with more than 2,000 institutional investors. In 2011, hedge funds took in $67 billion, to reach $1.72 trillion.

The best-performing mutual funds of 2011 invested in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks—putting utility, real estate investment trust, healthcare and consumer staple funds at the top of the heap.

Granite Investment Advisors is set to launch its first retail mutual fund this week, the Granite Value Fund.

A 10-year low of new municipal bond issuance is what was on everyone’s mind in 2011. Last year, only $295 billion of tax-exempt bonds were issued, down almost 32% from 2010 when $433 billion was issued. It was the lowest amount of issuance since 2001.

Volatility, the fear of a second worldwide recession, continued aversion to equity funds and uncertainty over Dodd-Frank regulatory fallout-all headlined 2011.

Financial advisers will remember 2011 as "The Year of Volatility" or "The Year of Uncertainty," according to a survey of 200 financial advisers polled by the SEI Advisor Network.