Investments

The International Securities Exchange said Thursday that it intended to provide venture capital to the exchange-traded product industry.

The operator of an all-electronic options exchange and licenser of financial indexes said it was beginning to fund the creation of exchange-traded funds by other parties.

Asset management firms recorded average profitability of 28% through 2010 and the first half of 2011, according to a new McKinsey report.

When it comes to mutual fund wholesaling, social media is a young man's game. Sales and distribution today are still all about in-person connections.

Total inflows to long-term mutual funds were $836 million for the week ended Nov. 9, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Eight in 10 advisors who sell annuities report that they are having more client discussions about retirement income planning than they did five years ago. And nearly two-thirds of advisors currently selling annuities indicate that guaranteed income options are expected to increase in importance over the next five years -- more so than any other factor.

HSBC Jintrust Fund Management has launched an on-shore RMB money market fund in China, raising RMB1.16 billion, or US$178 million, in its initial public offering, ended Oct. 28.

Stocks and bonds are moving in the opposite direction more so than anytime in the last 10 years.

Nearly nine out of 10, 87%, of Americans think the country will fall into another recession within the next two years, a Country Financial survey finds. However, only half, 51%, say they are prepared to handle it financially.

Calling the odds of a recession in the U.S. and beyond “uncomfortably high,” Morgan Stanley Smith Barney says it has shifted to an overweight position in safe haven assets and is underweighting risk assets. The change is “the most significant change to our tactical asset allocation in more than two years,” Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Chief Investment Officer Jeff Applegate and two colleagues wrote in a November markets report.

NEW YORK—“We believe in back-to-basics, commonsense investing with the goal of achieving some return above inflation while seeking lower volatility,” said Suzanna Hutchins, investment manager of global funds at Newton, an affiliate of BNY Mellon.

Global X Funds has launched the Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL), which it says is the first ETF that will globally focus on social media companies. The fund will cover companies that provide social networking, file sharing and other web-based media applications.

Citi Prime Finance had launched “Hedge Fund 3.0,” an outsourcing operating model to cover the core functions of launching, managing and building out successful hedge funds. With the aid of this program, Citi said, hedge funds can focus instead on their investment management, marketing and investor relations.

Global X Funds has launched the Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL), which it says is the first ETF that will globally focus on social media companies. The fund will cover companies that provide social networking, file sharing and other web-based media applications.

Corporate acquisitions using overpriced shares of stock rarely do much to cushion the decline the shares eventually suffer, according to a new study.

At a time when asset managers are increasingly questioning modern portfolio theory and static Morningstar style boxes, the Chicago research giant has announced its new "Analyst Ratings" to augment its 1- to 5-star ratings.

A ray of hope flashed across Twitter, amid the unrelenting, assaulting news on jobs, debt, housing, foreclosures and bankruptcies-from Jim Cramer's usually derisive TheStreet.com, of all places.

Corporate acquisitions using overpriced shares of stock rarely do much to cushion the decline the shares eventually suffer.

The waves of issuance rolling into the municipal primary market the past few weeks continue to grow. Last week's volume, at more than $9 billion, approached record territory for 2011, and this week's anticipated issuance should easily set a new high for the year, at nearly $12 billion.

Stocks rose 2.19%, or 259.89 points, Friday on positive news out of Italy and Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week 1.42% higher.