Stock Brokers
If you're investing for retirement, use our risk worksheet to help you determine the percentage of stocks you should hold in your portfolio. Stocks come in two principal varieties: common stock and...
View ArticlePortfolio Management
Allocating your money among stocks, bonds and cash could be your most important investment decision. That's because asset selection usually has more to do with your ultimate return than the specific...
View ArticleFinancial Planning Services
Governments and corporations regularly finance their operations by issuing such credit instruments. Municipals, also known as tax-exempts, are issued by state and local governments and are secured by...
View ArticleBond Brokers
You can buy a bond at either a discount or premium to its face value. A "discount bond" sells for less than its face value, or par, which is the price the issuing company or governmental agency will...
View ArticleInvestment Banking
No-load mutual funds are ideally suited for dollar-cost averaging. There are no sales commissions when you buy, and you can invest a small (or large) amount of money on a regular schedule, even if your...
View ArticleMutual Funds
It's surprising how many people never sit down and think clearly about what it is they're trying to achieve with their investments. Take a page from financial planners, who help clients write an...
View ArticleInvestment Consultant
Are you prepared for protecting your profit? Here are seven ways to protect your recent gains from a sudden reversal in fortune. We list them in order of increasing complexity.
View ArticleBrokerage Firms
Leveraged exchange-traded funds bring new meaning to the unfortunate concept of "heads I win, tails you lose." As the performance of some of these ETFs show, you can bet correctly and still end up...
View ArticleBusiness Consultants
"Ethical" is in the eye of the fund sponsor. The typical socially screened mutual fund avoids companies that profit from gambling, pornography, tobacco, alcohol or weapons. Some funds also award...
View ArticleInvestments
We present six complex investments you might be tempted to buy and the common sense options you'd be better off choosing. Please read on for more detailed information in the following article.
View ArticleGift Shops
Gifts are appropriate for kids and the people we know well. We have a good idea what they want, and we're not going to disappoint them. But when we don't know what recipients want and we feel obligated...
View ArticlePortfolio Manager
As gloom gives way to euphoria, it is worth leaning against the wind a bit and pondering some of the potential risks on the landscape. Here, we outline five of them. Please read on for more detailed...
View ArticleMuni Bonds
Attention, income investors: When times get tough, your first inclination may be to move all of your bond money to Treasuries. But entrusting Uncle Sam with your cash isn't the only safe course....
View ArticleInvesting Classes
Most of us would like to be better investors. Who wouldn't like to make millions off a few good stock picks and retire early? Heck, most of us would settle for being able to pick investments that grow...
View ArticleExchange Traded Funds
As with mutual funds, quantity doesn't mean quality. But ETFs have some advantages you should consider. The main advantage of ETFs is cost: ETFs typically hold expenses down, which means more money in...
View ArticleFinancial Services Companies
It may be tempting to switch out of an annuity that has lost money over the past several years, but that may be exactly the reason you may want to keep it.
View ArticleMergers & Acquisitions
It's a good idea to leave merger investing to specialists known as risk arbitrageurs. They sort through hundreds of deals like this one, investing in some and avoiding others. A handful of mutual funds...
View ArticleInvestment Services
You should aim for an average return of 10% to 12% per year on your investments. You won't make it every year, but that's an achievable range if you plan your approach thoughtfully and stick to your plan.
View ArticleAntiques Dealer & Fair Market Value
If the dealer recognized the high value of your antique the moment he saw it in your home, then he was taking advantage of you to buy it for so little. (Note, however, that reputable dealers typically...
View ArticleFinancial Institutions
True, accounts of individual investors may cost more to service than one big institutional account. But that part of the expense ratio is generally broken out separately from the fund's management fee,...
View ArticleETFs
The biggest ETF purveyor, iShares, has also gotten into the act. Its Diversified Alternatives Trust ( ALT ) holds futures contracts on commodities, currencies and interest rates, as well as on stock...
View ArticleInvestment Management
Here's a list of investment-related paperwork you need to hang on to permanently. Actually, you can toss most of what you receive. Read on and know more.
View ArticleInvestment Firms
Clearly, stocks could not continue to rise indefinitely at their earlier pace, and some would argue that a correction is not only inevitable but also healthy. So maybe the market will drop a few...
View ArticleMutual Fund Companies
If you decide to stick with no-load funds, you will slice the universe of funds you need to consider roughly in half. Once you find a no-load you like you can purchase shares directly from the fund...
View ArticleInvestment Banking Firms
Templeton Global Bond's record is terrific. Over the past ten years through January 4, it returned an annualized 10.7%. That put it in the top 1% among global bond funds, according to Morningstar....
View ArticleMutual Funds & Brokers
Some funds watch out for shareholder interests, and others treat investors as if they were second-class citizens. For instance, some sponsors will keep a fund open to new clients even though existing...
View ArticleRoth IRA Providers
The holidays are fast approaching, and you're wondering what to get your favorite teenager. Rather than shopping for the latest trendy fashion or iPod accessory, why not consider a gift that could...
View ArticleInvestment Portfolio Management
If you haven't already set up a portfolio through an online brokerage account, you can turn to any of several Web sites that offer free trackers you can customize with your list of stock and fund...
View ArticleFinancial Counseling
That bear market is instructive because it was the last one that stemmed, in part, from a financial crisis. That time, it was savings and loans that went bust en masse. It usually takes more time to...
View ArticleStocks & Bonds
The investment grades include bonds ordinarily bought by individuals and institutional investors seeking stable income and safety. BBB/Baa is the lowest rating that qualifies for commercial bank...
View ArticleMunicipal Bonds
Municipal bond is a catchall name that describes the debt issues of cities and towns, states and territories, counties, local public-housing authorities, water districts, school districts, and similar...
View ArticleTax Firms
You can buy an annuity with funds in your IRA, and if you use pretax money from an IRA or a 401(k) to purchase the annuity, then all payouts will be fully taxed. If you use after-tax dollars to buy the...
View ArticleIndividual Retirement Account (IRA)
Once you reach the magic age of 59½, you may withdraw money from your IRA for any reason penalty-free. Your withdrawals from a traditional IRA will be taxed (unlike withdrawals from a tax-free Roth),...
View ArticleRoth IRA for Children
To help your grandkids build a nest egg with a Roth IRA, they need earned income, whether it's money from raking leaves or a stint as a lifeguard. For more information on helping your grandchildren put...
View ArticleCollege Savings Plan
If you want the best tax benefits, start contributing to a 529 college-savings plan now, where the money can be used tax-free for college. You may even get a state income-tax deduction for your...
View ArticleInvestment Management Firms
There's nothing like a honking stock-market rally to prompt us to declare the end of a financial emergency. But whether or not the economy and the financial markets are really out of the woods, it's...
View ArticleInvestment Funds
Twenty years ago, the distinction between load and no-load mutual funds was clear-cut. Do-it-yourselfers bought no-loads directly from the sponsors. Please read on for more detailed information in the...
View ArticleBond Traders
The bond market includes at least a dozen categories, from Treasuries to speculative high-yield corporates to IOUs issued by foreign governments and companies. Most bond mutual funds specialize in only...
View ArticleWealth Management Firms
Don't run with the herd. Being surrounded by people who are doing the same thing as you offers a false sense of protection. Being a loner is extremely uncomfortable, but it's far better. Today, being a...
View ArticleGovernment Bonds
Yields on government issues usually run a little lower than on high-grade corporate issues because they are safer. Here's a rundown of the most popular government debt instruments.
View ArticleReal Estate Attorneys
Local resource for real estate attorneys in Baton Rouge. Includes detailed information on local businesses that provide access to real estate attorneys for purchase contracts, sale agreements, title,...
View Article
