ETF

If You Haven't Done This Lately, Your Portfolio Is In Danger

2012 was a good year for the stock markets. But if you want to be prepared for the next correction, whenever it comes, there's one easy-to-implement strategy that has helped investors through the bumps and dips more than any other: rebalancing your portfolio.

The Dangerous Problem Behind ETFs' Big Asset Surge

Thanks to their lower fees, most ETFs do better for investors than similar mutual funds, and investors have noticed: They poured $154 billion into ETFs in 2012, while yanking more than $119 billion out of stock mutual funds. Just one problem: Most of that money went into the wrong kind of ETFs.

How You Can Take Advantage of the Fed's Low Interest Rate Plans

To keep interest rates at rock-bottom lows and boost the economy, the Federal Reserve is buying $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed securities, and it'll keep buying them for as long as it takes to get the economy back on track. Here's how that plan should affect your personal economy.

ETFs and 529s: Two Smart Money Moves That Don't Go Together

Exchange-traded funds are among the most popular recent innovations in the investing world -- with good reason: They offer a host of advantages over mutual funds. But they aren't a universally good solution: They make no sense at all within 529 college savings plans.

Are ETFs Really Necessary? Pros and Cons of an Investment Craze

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?

Cash In On the Businesses You Buy From

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.

Escape the Low-Interest Trap With Dividend Stocks

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.

5 ETFs You Need in Your Portfolio

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.

10 Smart Places to Invest In Case the U.S. Defaults

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.

How to Boost Your Profits With Unusual Index Funds

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.

An ETF to Watch: Financial Services Fund

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%