Investments

State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation, has announced changes to the indices and names of five financial industry SPDR ETFs.

State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation, has announced changes to the indices and names of five financial industry SPDR ETFs.

Having made changes to the fund’s investment capacity, the $6.6 billion Eaton Vance Macro Absolute Return Fund is reopened to additional investments.

A Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of global fund managers makes it abundantly clear that just about everyone is sure Greece will default on its foreign debt obligations. And while this isn’t good news, the view from top money managers is that this eventuality has already been priced into the market and most are more optimistic about the global economy than they were last month.

At the start of October, the Investment Company Institute announced it was going global.

The mere mention of variable annuities is enough to set off a heated discussion among financial advisors. Below are excerpts from our discussion boards about our coverage of a report from the Insured Retirement Institute.

Independent and insurance brokers/dealers are the strongest sales channels for variable annuities, according to a report from the Insured Retirement Institute.

Blue chips ended the week up 1.41% to 11808.79. It was the fourth week in a row that stocks finished higher.

FPA has launched the International Value Strategy portfolio, with plans to roll out a mutual fund version in the near future.

With deleveraging debt now the modus operandi of the U.S. economy, the “tailwind of economic growth has been taken away,” said Curtis V. Arledge, vice chairman and chief executive officer of investment management at BNY Mellon. But the picture isn't entirely bleak. The decline in growth is creating a “bull market in [financial] advice,” Arledge said.

It’s a brave new world for investors, according to Natixis Global Asset Management President and CEO, U.S. and Asia, John Hailer. Amid the market volatility that has spiked this year, investors need alternative investments that are uncorrelated to the markets in order to build what Hailer calls “durable portfolios.”

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index rose 0.2% in September to 116.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3% increase in August and a 0.6% rise in July.

It was a rollercoaster session for stocks Thursday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 37.16 points higher at 11541.78. The Dow Industrials have changed direction in each of the last 10 sessions.

Following periods of market turbulence, investors always look for transparency and liquidity, which will inevitably attract more assets to the $1.2 trillion exchange-traded fund industry, speakers at the Money Management Institute Fall Solutions 2011 conference said Wednesday.

NEW YORK—Following periods of market turbulence, investors always look for transparency and liquidity, which will inevitably attract more assets to the $1.2 trillion exchange-traded fund industry, speakers at the Money Management Institute Fall Solutions 2011 conference said Wednesday.

NEW YORK—With deleveraging debt now the modus operandi of the U.S. economy, the “tailwind of economic growth has been taken away,” said Curtis V. Arledge, vice chairman and chief executive officer of investment management at BNY Mellon.

The SEC said it will review the ETF market to ensure it is “transparent” and not generating market volatility. The decision, announced at a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, marks the second time the regulator has investigated investment companies.

David Blaine is an illusionist, often referred to as a modern-day Houdini.

American workers are becoming more and more pessimistic about their retirement prospects, according to a new survey by Sun Life Financial, but those who have invested in annuities or hold long-term care insurance are decidedly more confident.

State Street Global Advisors this week launched its High Quality Green Bond strategy, giving investors a way to direct fixed-income investments to global climate solutions.