Investments

OppenheimerFunds is paying $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit against two of its funds, the Oppenheimer Champion and the Oppenheimer Core Bond funds.

'Clear Path' Needed on Deficit Reduction, BlackRock SaysPrinter Friendly Email Reprints Reader Comments Share | August 1, 2011Tom Steinert-ThrelkeldBlackRock, the large investment manager, said that the benefit of a debt limit deal will only be borne out if investors “see a clear path toward deficit reduction that encourages confidence in the U.S. dollar.’’Like what you see? Click here to sign up for Securities Technology Monitor's weekly newsletter to get the latest news and analysis that matters to the effective operation of capital markets.The manager of $3.6 trillion in assets for institutional and individual investors around the world said it was “encouraged by momentum” to raise the debt celing and cut the federal deficit.But it said, in a formal statement:“The precise composition and timing of any spending cuts will determine whether this proposal produces a real and significant reduction in the deficit. Avoiding default by the U.S. government is of paramount importance, but investors also need to see a clear path toward deficit reduction that encourages confidence in the U.S. dollar.“This is essential if we are to maintain America's AAA rating and encourage long-term investment in the U.S.”“America cannot afford further delay. With the U.S. economy continuing to show weakness, every day of delay in resolving this situation will erode economic growth, jeopardize job creation and undermine the credibility of the United States in global financial markets.BlackRock operates in 26 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa.The BlackRock assessment comes after a weekend of brinksmanship that resulted in a debt limit deal before securities markets opened worldwide on Monday. Here’s The Hill’s summary:Congress and President Obama have a deal on raising the debt ceiling but the timing of the agreement, made late Sunday evening, leaves lawmakers on a tight schedule to get it passed in order to avoid a default.

The deal cuts spending by close to $1 trillion immediately and mandates a 12-member joint committee to create additional ways to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. The committee must report its findings by late November. The package does not contain any tax increases.Additionally, Obama would get a second debt limit hike of up to $1.5 trillion if Congress either sends a balanced-budget amendment to the states before the end of the year or if the joint committee finds more savings and cuts.A vote on the deal is expected to take place Monday, though an exact time is yet to be announced.If you look further into the week ahead, you’ll find the debt deal also was something of a birthday present for President Obama. He turns 50 on Thursday.BlackRock, the large investment manager, said that the benefit of a debt limit deal will only be borne out if investors “see a clear path toward deficit reduction that encourages confidence in the U.S. dollar.’’

Clients can achieve a broad-based, globally focused portfolio of stocks and bonds with just four funds.

Advisors will be increasingly called upon to create endowment-like portfolios and will need to combine several routine techniques.

Unique products may bring higher costs that outweigh advantages.

Advisors consider sector allocations to overweight favorites and underweight overvalued ones.

A failure by politicians in Washington to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling in the next few days -- particularly if Standard & Poor's makes good on its threat to lower the country's AAA sovereign debt rating -- could have “deep and wide reverberations” in credit and equities markets, according to Todd Rosenbluth, an analyst at S&P Equity Research. But bond funds might be unscathed.

Unit investment trusts have their pros and cons but lately investors have been seeing a decided upside in a dividend strategy portfolio.

An overnight poll of 1,000 affluent Americans conducted Thursday evening by UBS Wealth Management Americas found that 40% are waiting out a resolution on the debt ceiling before putting any more money in the markets.

Commenting on Friday’s news from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis that the economy grew an anemic 1.3% in the second quarter, The Conference Board said that from a business cycle perspective, there still aren’t signs that the economy has re-entered a recession. However, the business research organization does not expect GDP to grow more than 2% in the remaining half of the year.

As the nation reaches the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling, Fidelity Investments is telling investors not to panic-sell out of stock and bond funds, and to have confidence in money market funds, which have been safeguarded and have complied with stricter holding rules for the past year.

A majority, 63%, of middle-class Americans thinks that the U.S. is in a double-dip recession, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index shows. Fifty-percent thought the U.S. had reverted back into recession last summer.

MassMutual has made a number of enhancements to its RetireSMART target-date and lifecycle funds, most notably adding mutual fund options to its target-date series. Previously, only separately managed accounts through a group annuity contract were offered as target-date funds.

U.S. ETFs are on a roll so far in 2011, according to State Street Global Advisors, which released its 2011 mid-year ETF outlook report on Thursday.

Lately, I've seen more and better thinking about asset management than you could find in the previous 20 years in the profession and I think it may be time to give modern portfolio theory a makeover. In fact, I think this fits a long-standing historical pattern.

Federated Investors has absorbed $100.6 million in assets from the Tributary International Equity Fund and merged them into the Federated International Leaders Fund, a fund will a similar mandate and that invests in high-quality foreign companies that appear to be undervalued.

Need a reason for optimism about the U.S. economy? The Hartford’s chief investment strategist for wealth management has six.

There are two gigantic economic crises weighing heavily on the minds of investors and government leaders right now: the raising of the debt ceiling and the risk to the country’s venerable AAA sovereign debt rating.

As Europe stemmed fears of contagion from Greece’s default by arranging voluntary rollovers of private bonds and the United States hammers out a deal over its debt ceiling, stocks tentatively moved up in Tuesday trading.

As the deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling nears, anxious investors are wondering whether they should be worried about a market crash and, if so, how they can protect their portfolios. IndexIQ thinks it has an answer -- one that gives investors downside protection, but also allows them to benefit if things go the other way and Washington strikes a deal by the Aug. 2 deadline.