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.
There's one word to describe the exchange-traded bond fund business and market in 2009 -- booming. Indeed, last year more than $39 billion flowed into long-only bond ETFs, while more than $26 billion flowed out of long only U.S. stock ETFs. Can fixed-income investors expect more of the same in 2010?
You can deal with future dollar declines by gaining exposure to foreign currencies -- either by investing in the currencies themselves, or by buying stocks in companies whose earnings aren't denominated in dollars.
