Investments

The persistently weak economy and new regulations are preventing investment management firms from growing, according to a survey of 100 executives by KPMG.

Hedge funds have been holding their own amid the severe market swings of the past week, with the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index declining only -3.66% month-to-date through Aug. 14. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -11.58% in that time, and the S&P 500 declined -13.18%.

The last two weeks have been a heart-stopping roller coaster ride for investors. But don’t assume that the ride is necessarily over, said Michael Ryan, chief investment strategist at UBS.

Investors came back refreshed and eager to buy Monday, pushing stocks from most every industry higher and suggesting that perhaps -- finally -- the market has stabilized in the aftermath of the debt rating downgrade and sustained gains will become the rule rather than exception.

Sell-side analysts' refusal to admit there wrong after they've gone out on a limb -- only to find their initial opinions were incorrect -- has exposed clients and the markets as a whole to more losses for years, according to a new study.

Wells Fargo is buying up most of Citadel’s troubled investment bank operation, which the Chicago-based hedge fund recently decided to unload after concluding that’s its plan to convert the company into an investment bank was not working out.

Jefferies Group named Thomas Fetzer as the new managing director of its global industrials group where he'll be responsible for coverage of capital goods clients across German and throughout Central Europe.

Hedge funds have been holding their own amid the severe market swings of the past week, with the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index declining only -3.66% month-to-date through Aug. 14. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -11.58% in that time, and the S&P 500 declined -13.18%.

During the first trading session after Standard & Poor's downgraded its rating of U.S. debt from AAA to AA+, investors got out of stocks and parked their money in ... U.S. Treasury bonds.

It is ironic that Standard & Poor's, one of the three major credit rating agencies at the heart of the financial crisis, would downgrade the United States' credit rating from triple-A to AA+. After all, S&P should have properly assessed the asset-backed housing securities that led to the Great Recession not as investment-grade but what they actually were. Junk.

As the financial markets hit investors with gale-force gyrations last week, most advisers are telling their clients to drop anchor.

It is ironic that Standard & Poor’s, one of the three major credit rating agencies at the heart of the financial crisis, would downgrade the United States’ credit rating from triple-A to AA+. After all, S&P should have properly assessed the asset-backed housing securities that led to the Great Recession not as investment-grade but what they actually were. Junk.

As trading opens on another nervous week on Wall Street, mainstream investors are casting their votes on prospects by racing out of mutual funds that invest in stocks long-term.

There’s more bad news for the economy and the stock market after a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan found that their Consumer Confidence Index in early August plunged to its lowest point since May of 1980.

After a week that started with a broad-based equities free fall -- only to be interrupted by massive gains and then equally gigantic losses in successive trading days -- ended on an upbeat note with the Dow Jones Industrial average adding 125 points, or 1.1%, to close at 11,269.02.

Investors took money out of U.S. bond and stock mutual funds because of the increase in economic uncertainty in July, according to research released on Friday by Strategic Insight.

Investors are rushing out of equities as markets grow increasingly volatile, but maybe there’s another alternative to just sitting on the sidelines and leaving stocks to the big institutional investors.

Charles Schwab grew its total client assets under management to more than $1.65 trillion, bringing in a total of $9.9 billion in net new assets in July alone.

During the first trading session after Standard & Poor’s downgraded its rating of U.S. debt from AAA to AA+, investors got out of stocks and parked their money in...U.S. Treasury bonds.

Mutual fund asset growth worldwide is expected to rise by a moderate 10% this year, according to Financial Research Corp. By comparison, the industry’s assets rose 16% in 2010.