There’s very little variety for U.S. households in dealing with their financial investments.

Are these patterns a good roadmap?

A 20 percent market gain must discount something—a lot.

The VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term exchange-traded note, ticker XIV, which lets investors bet on continued low volatility, fell as much as 4.5 percent Thursday, after closing at a record high the day before.

BlackRock gets investors in with low fees on basic products, hoping to keep them once they want something more complex -- and expensive.

Market makers are stepping away from providing early funding, forcing issuers to get creative in seeking seed capital.

Here is a survey of the darkening investment landscape painted by banks and asset managers.

Once regarded as novices, family offices are looking beyond stocks and bonds to pursue direct investments in companies and real estate. The most sophisticated are turning into investing giants.