ETF

Everywhere you look, new exchange-traded funds are popping up, and many people now think they're a must-have for a successful portfolio. But even though investors have poured more than $1 trillion into ETFs, the question remains: Do you really need them?

You're probably spending a lot this holiday season, on yourself and your friends and family. Why not get a little something back? Buying shares of stock in some of the retailers you patronize can give you your fair share of the profits your purchases help to create. Retail ETFs can give you that and boost your retirement funds in the process.

A few years ago, with $1 million invested in CDs, you could have lived off your interest, but with rates at historic lows, now your returns would barely cover a few mortgage payments. This is forcing retirees to find new, fairly safe ways to get those returns. The experts' pick? Dividend stocks.

In search of a well-balanced diversified portfolio, you could spend every spare minute combing through financial statements before you bought a single share of a company's stock. Or, you could take a shortcut and buy ETFs. Though not a magic bullet, they're a huge time and effort saver. Here are five ETFs that will make your investing a lot easier.

The odds that the U.S. will default on its debt increase each day, and even if a short-term deal is reached, the ratings agencies may downgrade U.S. debt anyway. If that happens, turmoil could roil the markets. So where can the smart money flee for safety? 24/7 Wall St. offers 10 safe options.

By now, most small investors know that investing in index funds is frequently superior to owning individual stocks or actively managed mutual funds. It turns out, however, there are several ways to squeeze even better returns out of your capital using unusually constructed index funds.

With sales estimates gloomy, the Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services ETF may be a great bet. So far in 2011, it has had a return of just over 2.6% and a dividend yield of .5%

The economy has had more than its share of trouble lately: Japan's earthquake comes on top of rising oil and food prices, political turmoil in the Middle East and a crop of government austerity measures. But investing opportunities lie hidden behind the bad news.

After a few comatose years following the financial crisis, the IPO market is roaring back. And with names like Facebook and Groupon driving the rumor mill, smaller investors are wondering how to get in on the action. The answer: Carefully, thanks to the many risks.

Prices for copper, gold, wheat, corn and oil are soaring. But how can small investors can take advantage of this growth without taking on way too much risk? That's a good question, indeed. And here are some good answers.