Investments

Nassim Taleb has made a career out of trying to get financial professionals to pay recognize that unpredictable events do occur, with devestating effect.

Kris Jenner is trained as a surgeon and since 2000 has managed T. Rowe Price’s Healthcare Technology fund. Having an M.D. at the helm of a fund—and another on its analyst team—doesn’t hurt. Health Sciences boasts Lipper’s top scores for total return, consistent return and capital preservation, as well as low expenses.

There's a new world order coming in mutual funds. And a new form of wholesaler -- colloquially called a "schmeek" -- will be helping financial advisers understand its new complexity and sell a constantly evolving kaleidoscope of new products to individual investors.

WASHINGTON—Stocks will return between 8% and 9% over the next three to five years, predicted Eddie C. Brown, president and CEO of Brown Capital Management, speaking on the “Industry Investments: Experience Talks” panel at the Investment Company Institute’s General Membership Meeting Thursday morning.

While investors have overwhelmingly stayed the course and remained invested in mutual funds following the financial crises of 1987, 1990, 2000 and 2008, the latest credit crises has greatly reduced investors’ risk tolerance, said Investment Company Institute Chairman Edward C. Bernard in his opening keynote address to the ICI’s General Membership Meeting on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the 1964 movie, a "fail-safe" point is where you sent fighter aircraft to meet a potential threat and await further instructions, before firing.

WASHINGTON—While investors have overwhelmingly stayed the course and remained invested in mutual funds following the financial crises of 1987, 1990, 2000 and 2008, the latest credit crisis has greatly reduced investors’ risk tolerance, said Investment Company Institute Chairman Edward C. Bernard in his opening keynote address to the ICI’s General Membership Meeting Wednesday here.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy, while not poised to grow as rapidly as emerging nations and saddled with a $1.4 trillion a year deficit, has the fundamentals in place and “the resiliency and strength” to reclaim its position as the leading economy of the world, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told attendees at the Investment Company Institute’s General Membership Meeting here Wednesday.

With so many mutual fund options available to them, some investors are finding it much more difficult to sort out exactly which funds make the most sense for them from both a cost and investment perspective, according to Madison, N.J.-based financial advisory firm Brinton Eaton.

The SIX Swiss Exchange has begun trading in 12 exchange-traded funds created by State Street Global Advisors.

CHICAGO — Strong investor relationships and diligent disclosure provide issuers with their best shot at keeping borrowing costs down amid headlines about fiscal stress that persist even as state tax revenues have rebounded, a conference panelist said here Tuesday.

Genworth Financial Wealth Management has introduced a streamlined approach to diversifying investments through its Genworth Portfolio Solutions (GPS).

Hatteras Funds has added two single strategy hedged mutual funds to its lineup of alternative mutual fund products. They are the Hatteras Long/Short Equity Fund and the Hatteras Long/Short Debt Fund.

Hedge funds, as measured by the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index, rose 2.2% in the first quarter, with positive performance in each month.

Global X Funds has launched the Global X Food ETF, in anticipation of growing demand for food, driven by the growth of emerging market nations.

The Federal Reserve’s ultra-easy monetary policy has been a major cause of rising corporate profits and a broader recovery, says Black Rock Chief Equity Strategist Bob Doll. The Fed has also helped bring about the decline in the dollar, boosting exports.

Product includes portfolios managed like institutional and endowment funds.

Allianz Life Insurance Co., the largest annuity provider in the U.S. with more than $2 billion in sales last year, this week announced a strategic partnership with seven broker-dealers that will add its Allianz Retirement ProSM variable annuity to their advisory platforms.

How is a financial advisor supposed to go through the array of annuity products on offer and find the best ones for each client’s investment and retirement needs, especially when many of the products on offer are changing almost every year?

Biggest users are those at traditional wirehouses, with a penetration rate of 94.9%, a survey by Kasina and Horsesmouth finds.