Investments

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.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. rose 1% in December to 112.4, following a 1.1% gain in November and a 0.4% rise in October.

Frost Investment Advisors has launched the Frost Diversified Strategies Fund, a mutual fund that combines hedge and private equity approaches. The fund seeks to reduce downside volatility while providing upside investment opportunities.

The latest report from LoanPerformance, released this week, showed another notable decline in November, with prices down 5% from the recent peak in May.

Tax-exempt money market funds posted their first decline since mid-December as outflows of $4.35 billion trimmed total net assets to $329.91 billion for the week ended Jan. 17, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The sophisticated investor in retail municipal bonds has ­remained calm the past few months even as mutual funds have dumped state and local ­government debt by the truckload.