A recent court decision could stop a common investment industry practice that robs millions of 401(k) plan participants of higher returns by choosing fund versions with expense ratios that are some 40% greater.
Bear funds, which are pessimistic mutual funds, have delivered the highest total returns since the market rally ended in late April. But make no mistake: They are risky. And some are built around scary doomsday scenarios.
Here's the question: What about Bill Miller? The man once hailed as "the country's greatest mutual fund manager" is now a Wall Street goat, and there's a vital investing lesson to be learned from his fall from grace.
Osterweis Fund's managers use a stock-picking method that relies on "free cash yield." And the fund has a record for performing relatively well, even during stock-market downturns.
It's both unfortunate and counterintuitive that smart investing means ignoring most of the financial media. Is watching reports from the floor of the NYSE somehow helpful to investors?
Brian Stack used the crash of 2008 to revamp the Pioneer Growth Opportunities Fund, and since then, its performance has risen from the bottom of its peer group to the top.
May 6 reminded investors of the need for diversification to reduce risk to their portfolios. So, how much risk is right for you, what emerging markets are good investments and is gold really a safe haven?
Peter Langerman's Franklin Mutual Series fund family invests like a private equity fund or hedge fund when it wants to, even though the clients are retail investors who pay low fees on small deposits.
The Masters' Select Equity Fund, managed by Jeremy DeGroot, aims to take a big decision off your hands by investing across five investment styles and cap sizes. But an investor in this fund would be exposed to one big risk -- active stock picking.
Money manager Ryan Jacob believes Internet-focused businesses can be some of the best investments for the future. But is an Internet-based fund a solid, long-term investment or a risky trade that will succumb to an inevitable market meltdown?
Fund manager Marc Heilweil is an old-school investor who usually outperforms the competition by using his instincts -- not spreadsheets crammed with numbers -- to spot good companies at those rare times when they are trading cheaply.
Thirsting for an interesting investment? Consider water. The precious resource could prove very lucrative over the next decade as its use in agriculture, industrial production and other areas surges. There are several water industry stocks and mutual funds that could be good bets.
The SEC just settled a claim against the Quadrangle Group over an alleged pay-to-play scheme. But while the SEC is busy with relatively small issues like this, it ignores a $3 trillion pay-to-play scam that affects most Americans: 401(k) kickbacks.
In 2008, the Manning & Napier Pro-Blend Maximum Term Series outperformed the S&P 500 Index for the 10th year in a row, but in the recent recovery, the fund is starting to fall a bit behind. Find out what stocks its clever portfolio managers are betting on to get back ahead of the curve.
Direxion Funds appear to be delivering stellar returns. That's because they're leveraged ETFs, which also makes them extremely risky. Even a top Direxion exec warns individual investors to "not pay attention to our funds and forget they ever saw them." Here's why.
After the fund landed in the worst-in-class category in a rough 2008, portfolio manager Alison Thacker appears to be in the process of dragging it out. How it might fare in other crisis is an open question, but at least it's moving up again now.
The Delafield Fund invests in the troubled manufacturers of Middle America, but it has more than doubled its clients' money over the past year. The fund has more than 46% of its assets in industrials, which is about triple the amount held by similar funds in the value universe.
To pick a great mutual fund, you really have to look at it through the eyes of the portfolio manager. In the end, it's not just about investment strategy. It's about execution. Fund Focus will delve into managers' strategies to help you make smarter choices.
Taxes can be a big issue for investors: No one wants to make money on an investment only to have to give a major portion of it to Uncle Sam. So instead of asking politicians for a tax cut this year, investors should give one to themselves by adopting some tax-efficient strategies.
Portfolios made up entirely of exchange-traded funds have appeal. ETFs often have lower expenses than mutual funds, bring certain tax benefits, and trade throughout the day. But investors need to make sure they are properly diversified if they go they all-ETF route.
Some equity fund managers are talking the talk, but not walking the walk -- by churning their portfolios more than they say. A new study finds that some active equity fund managers have higher portfolio turnover rates than they themselves claim.
The index that DailyFinance's Daniel Solin created based on stocks that started with the letters in his last name would have ranked among the top 1% of mutual funds, if it existed. The message: Don't trust investing pros who confuse skill with luck. Index mutual funds are still your best bet.
Lusha the Russian chimp's stock picks have outperformed 94% of the country's investment funds. Inspired by Lusha, DailyFinance's Daniel Solin has created a stock index based on the letters of his last name. We'll track it to see if it beats expert fund manager portfolios.
Want to invest wisely? Understand your goals and determine whether increasing your risk is worth the upside. Advisers focus on other things like market predictions and stock picking. Why? An educated investor might not need them if they concentrated on what matters.
Here are a few: If you think you can pick winning stocks or mutual funds, or if you intend to rely on a broker or financial adviser to help you beat the market. In general, most people will be far better off if they simply steer clear of the stock market.
A slew of asset managers are racing to cash in on the growing interest in this version of exchange-trade funds. So, just what's the appeal of having a real live portfolio manager at the helm? The experts weigh in.
Exchange-traded funds have never been more popular. They're passively managed, which makes them cheap, like mutual funds, and they trade all day long, like stocks. But Wall Street greed might make ETFs the next good investment vehicle to go bad.
When a highly successful money manager like Hussman crunches the numbers and decides that shares are priced to disappoint -- perhaps for the next decade -- intelligent investors would do well to pay attention.
Many retirement accounts are in tatters, but it turns out that a select few investing pros have produced exceptional gains -- in some cases more than 200 percent in cumulative returns -- over a most difficult decade.
