Portfolio Construction
Keep up with the latest news on key elements for successful portfolio construction including asset allocation, asset management options and investment strategies.
Standing Up for Shareholders
By Bob KeaneA new Web site intended to help organize thousands of individual shareholders in opposition to controversial SEC proposals has been launched as part of a joint effort by The Social Investment Forum (SIF) and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). The groups charge that the SEC proposals to change...
August 22, 2007
What's Going On With Money Market Funds?Money market funds--something almost everyone takes for granted--are not supposed to be newsworthy. But during the first two weeks of August. Standard & Poor's put...
August 17, 2007
RIAs Are Fastest Growing Distribution ChannelNew research by Cerulli Associates says that the fastest growing advisor channels are the ones with the most independence, registered investment advisors (RIAs). The biggest...
August 17, 2007
Fed Cuts Discount Rate and U.S. Markets RespondThe Federal Reserve Board cut the discount rate from 6.25% to 5.75% before the opening stock market bell on August 17. The Fed announced that...
August 17, 2007
A Lesson, and Test, in How to Weather Market GyrationsThe subprime loan debacle continues to cause volatility in the markets, leading to the Federal Reserve Board's decision August 17 to improve market liquidity by...
August 17, 2007
House Tells Senate to Raise GSE Loan LimitHouse Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Gary Miller (R-California) urged the U.S. Senate August 17 to raise the conforming loan limit beyond the House passed reform bill for the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
August 16, 2007
Moody's Lowers Countrywide Debt RatingTwo days after the largest provider of home mortgages in the U.S., Countrywide Financial, announced that a full 1% of its home loans were in foreclosure, the company got more bad news on August 16 from a ratings agency. Moody's Investors Service downgraded the senior debt ratings of Countrywide Financial...
August 15, 2007
New Vehicles Target Munis and Luxury GoodsWhile August is often thought of as a month of lazy vacations, this year it's seen the the introduction of some unique ETFs. Claymore Securities,...