Investments

Five other world-class asset managers, including PIMCO and Wellington, are sub-advising the fund along with Hancock.

Investors in tax-exempt debt should be cautious about heeding recent reports about the possibility of widespread bankruptcy and default in the municipal market, and stop running away from solid, safe investments because of distorted opinions in the media.

John Hancock Funds announced on Tuesday its new John Hancock Alternative Asset Allocation Fund, a multi-managed fund that John Hancock will manage along with five other leading asset management firms: PIMCO, Wellington Management, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Stone Harbor, Deutsche Asset Management and First Quadrant.

Although the economic recovery is relatively slower in the U.S. than abroad, U.S. CEOs’ outlook has improved considerably, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers finds.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased in January to 60.6, up from 53.3 in December.

Global X Funds on Tuesday launched two new emerging markets exchange-traded funds, the Global X Russell Emerging Markets Growth ETF and the Global X Russell Emerging Markets Value ETF.

Forward Management on Tuesday launched the Forward Tactical Enhanced Fund, an absolute return fund that seeks to deliver returns regardless of the market’s direction.

Large capitalization stocks are likely to outperform small cap stocks over the next decade, according to BNY Mellon Beta Management.On Tuesday BNY Mellon Beta Management, a BNY Mellon Asset Management business that facilitates rebalancing programs and synthetic asset class exposure through the use of futures, swaps, index funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced that it expects better returns and lower transaction costs for large caps over the medium to long term.

Assets held in domestic exchange-traded funds reached a record $995 billion at the end of last year.

BlackRock said net income reached $657 million in its fourth quarter, up $401 million or 157% from a year earlier. Net income for all of 2010 more than doubled, to $2.1 billion, on revenue of $8.6 billion.

Global X has already contracted to develop new ETFs based on the indexes.

The hiring outlook for the next six months looks good, according to the most recent survey from the National Association for Business Economics.

Russell Investments has launched two new mega-cap emerging markets indexes, the Russell Emerging Markets Mega Cap Growth Index and the Russell Emerging Markets Mega Cap Value Index. Global X Funds has already contracted to launch two exchange-traded funds based on the indexes.

Global equities are benefiting from an increasingly positive outlook by investors, according to the latest BoA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers.

U.S. banks have finally started extending loans to consumers for the first time since the credit crisis began in 2008.

Fewer wealthy Americans are using mutual funds, and among those investors who continue to use these investment products, allocations are down significantly.

The fund combines hedge and private equity approaches.

Volatility and speculation about defaults and bankruptcies in the municipal market continue to spook issuers and investors, affecting volume in the primary market.

Investors established a new record for withdrawals from municipal bond mutual funds last week as headline risk continued to chase people from state and local government debt funds.

“High-risk” allocations fell to 15% from 24% in 2006.