Investments

The optimal combination of high corporate bond yields and budding investment returns for defined benefit plans was not evident in this year’s third quarter, as pensions’ worldwide saw an “offset of strong investment returns” due to the decline in yields, Towers Watson said.

Modest growth is predicted for 2011 approaches, with equities showing promise and emerging markets looking particularly attractive for investors, according ING’s head of asset allocation.

Imagine this: An entire generation of investors has accumulated a significant amount of investable cash, but was too apprehensive of the stock market, of advisors, and of the potential costs, to know how to invest the money.

ING’s asset allocation chief says inflation won’t be a factor in the near future.

Combined market volatility and low interest rates have created the ideal environment for indexed annuity sales as fixed products continue to suffer, LIMRA says.

And 38% have a target nest egg in mind.

The SEC will vote on raising the threshold for registration from $25 million to $100 million.

The story in the municipal bond market this month has been bleak. The story in the municipal bond exchange-traded fund ­market has been even bleaker.

NetX360 has a 96% adoption rate among affiliated advisors in the RIA and broker-dealer channels.

According to a survey of advisors, the answer is yes, but in other asset classes, there is no clear-cut leader.

The Hedge Fund Association said it is adamantly opposed to the establishment of a self-regulatory organization for hedge funds, which the Government Accountability Office is currently investigating under the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Build America Bonds have entered a world of their own.

Fund managers are moving to get independent values on over-the-counter derivatives, rather than relying on their broker-dealers.

Dan Martino, manager of the T. Rowe Price Media and Telecommunications Fund, has two big advantages over competing fund managers.

Grail Partners’ chairman likens the future role of ETFs to the advent of personal computers.

First investment banks developed tools to act like hedge funds. Now their risk strategies are spreading to traditional money management.

Ultra-wealthy investors, with their $25 million in household net worth, might be a tempting lure for advisors who want their business. But any professional money manager who wants them as clients has to sharpen his or her knowledge about alternative investments.

Approach with caution though, Spectrem says, as 46% of ultra-rich individuals say they feel they could manage their investments better than a professional.

First investment banks developed tools to act like hedge funds. Now their risk strategies are spreading to traditional money management.

Tax-exempt money market funds posted only modest gains this week, increasing by $718.2 million and ending with $327.09 billion in total net assets, but that halted a month-long streak of outflows in the week ending Nov. 8, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.