Investments

Each camp offers sound reasoning for focusing on one practice over another, but what's the best strategy for client portfolios? Here's a look at how active and passive funds have fared in 2014.

Clients should estimate the amount of income they will need to support their lifestyle rather than determining the right size of their nest egg; plus, eight tips for people who will retire in 2015 and why 401(k)s are still a problem.

Fund managers need to focus on more than the strategies they intend to execute. They must also structure their funds and organizations in ways that address both increasing regulation and investors' concerns about the safekeeping of assets.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is weighing a bid for Frank Russell Co.’s asset management arm, a business the London Stock Exchange Group is preparing to sell early next year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

With investors increasingly looking to U.S. stocks and turning away from emerging market equities, many advisors are urging clients to rebalance into that sector. But each of the BRIC countries has its problems.

Decreased creditor protection for inherited IRAs will impact retirement planning next year; plus, the hidden pitfalls of collecting Social Security benefits from an ex-spouse and three dividend stocks for retirees to consider.

Concerns about an over-proliferation of ETFs, curiosity regarding how market demand will shape product innovation and questions about the direction of regulation are expected to punctuate discussions among those attending the 19th annual IMN global Indexing and ETF Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., that begins on Dec. 7.

Man Group, the largest publicly traded hedge fund manager in the world, will buy fund-of-hedge funds assets from Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments to expand in the U.S. The London-based firm will acquire the contracts to manage Merrill’s $1.2 billion multi-strategy investments, and will pay Merrill Lynch $2.9 million when the deal closes and 35% of the management fees generated annually for five years, not to exceed $30 million.

Bill Gross’s main bond fund at Janus Capital Group Inc. received an estimated $769 million in new money last month, bringing assets above $1 billion. His Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund reported assets of $1.21 billion as of Nov. 28. That’s an increase from $442.9 million from the prior month.

Are your clients prepared for the capital gain that many mutual funds are likely to pay out before year-end?

The new approach enables workers to know their income at a specific age based on their plan's current balance; plus, mutual fund firms acting as 401(k) providers that favor their own funds and how your Social Security benefits measure up.

Supplying Chinese equity demand is not a simple process of deciding to launch an ETF product, providers say. There are a number of operational challenges that a firm must navigate to make the offering available, including managing a complex system of global exchange that involves precise timings and potential risks for clients.

Hedge funds are betting that the oil- price crash is close to ending. Speculators boosted their net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude by 14% in the week ended Dec. 2, the most in 20 months, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short bets contracted by 15% as long wagers expanded 4%.

The industry saw dollar hedge demand strong among ETFs, another insurer acquiring an asset manager and the second ETF provider to offer U.S. investors access to China's onshore bond market.

Bill Gross’s exit unleashed a crisis that Pimco is still trying to contain. His departure was followed by record withdrawals from the mutual fund he once ran, and which he built into the world’s biggest.

Buying immediate annuities early before retirement may not be a good strategy because the payouts will not account for future inflation; plus, deadlines for retirement plan contributions in 2014 and six things you need to know about Social Security benefits.

Total tax-exempt and taxable municipal bond issuance in 2015 is expected to edge up to $357.5 billion, an increase of more than 2.7% from the $348.1 billion forecast for this year.

Blue Elephant Capital Management is planning a second fund to purchase loans originated on online marketplaces, and the differences from its first fund show how hot the sector has become.

Nearly 97% of respondents said they were very or somewhat knowledgeable about saving for retirement, but just 20% passed a test to prove it; Plus, strategies to increase retirement income.

The world of what one might broadly label values-based investing has changed and expanded significantly in recent years. It has largely been a niche sector, albeit a growing one. But some advisors expect generational changes to affect future growth.