Mutual Funds Articles

The lower the sales charge you pay, the greater your returns. Find out how to cash in.

Go beyond the name and find out if that fund fits into your portfolio.

Learn more about the top Wall Street investors who made their fortunes with high-stakes hedge funds.

Find out how the first market averages were calculated and what they mean for investors today.

Learn how to spot over-diversification in your portfolio and find out why some financial advisors are motivated to do it.

Find out whether stocking your money in these accounts will stand up to the test of time.

Small, gradual changes in a portfolio manager's stated strategies can be a big risk for investors.

Life is unpredictable, but if there's anything you can do to stave off disaster, it's to be prepared and be careful.

Their inverse correlation with stocks and bonds make these alternative investments worth getting to know.

Find out if fee-based investing is right for you, by learning its terminology and types of investment vehicles.

These three pieces of Morningstar's trifecta can help you understand the quality of mutual funds.

When hedge funds buy up bonds from bankrupt companies, should investors follow suit?

A few years ago, newly arrived investors were warned that they would lose $10,000 before they learned enough to make any money. If possible, that's not pessimistic enough.

How do you choose a fund with an optimal risk-reward combination? We teach you about standard deviation, beta and more!

Gemology as an investment alternative may seem glamorous, but it's not for the faint of heart.

These structured products contribute to keeping borrowing rates low.

When the economy blows up, these funds offer some protection from major losses.

A rich offering of attractive alternatives have the open-ended mutual fund facing obsolescence.

Thinking about relying on analyst recommendations for your next trade? We'll show you what to watch out for.

Deciding whether it's possible to attain above-average returns requires an understanding of EMH.

Learn about the vulture funds that prey on the market's weakest companies by investing in distressed debt.

Find out how it provides futures and commodity option strategists with more bang for their margin buck!

Don't let this valuable piece of mail end up in your trash can. Here are five things you need to know.

Find out what our readers wanted to know most about this year – and why.

Do you have a capital loss that could be booked and used to offset future tax liabilities? If so, it may be time to sell.

Many investors overpay to play the market. Learn ways to make your investment strategies cost less.

We decode the meaning of the many letters that can follow the names of financial professionals.

These funds may look appealing. Find out whether they can really live up to all of their promises.

Here are some options to get you started in real estate for a fraction of what it would cost to buy an actual property.

Get into ETFs and enjoy the benefits of a mutual fund with the flexibility of a stock.

Find out what type of international fund might suit your needs, in order to gain exposure to foreign markets.

Find out whether an in-house fund will serve you better than a major company's fund offerings.

As the economies of some countries sputter and former third-world countries are beginning to emerge, currency investing is becoming more intriguing. Learn ways to make money on money with the foreign exchange market.

Find out whether your funds are being managed according to your goals.

Prices of commodities - cotton, wheat, coffee, etc. - have recently spiked. Learn how that affects consumers.

Beat the tax man come April 15 by investing in a charity-friendly fund.

Some financial sayings are worth a second look, even if they seem to be set in stone.

Diversification is a vital investment tool, and well within the reach of even small investors.

The curse of September continues this week in history.

Learn how hedge funds win big gains for investors - and why they sometimes lose.

Learn about the easiest way to benefit from money market securities.

These formulas can help you pick better stocks for your portfolio once you learn how to use them.

This strategy can provide returns even if the currency pair doesn't move a cent.

You have the right to take part in important company decisions - even if you cannot attend the meetings.

When it comes to hedge funds, this measure is not reliable on its own.

If you believe the market smiles on those who focus on value, growth or income, this vehicle may be for you.

You work hard to put your money away for the future, but where you should you keep it?

Check out this cheap and easy way to secure good returns for the long term.

Learn to bank short-term profits by placing stops away from the crowd.

By following some broad allocation guidelines, new investors can build the portfolio they want.

Money markets are traditionally "safe" investments - but Rule 2a-7 just made them a bit safer.

Deflation has continued to pop up throughout economic history - but is that such a bad thing?

Sometimes investment tips can do more harm to your portfolio than good. One size fits all may work for ponchos and raincoats, but it does not work when it comes to investment advice.

A new name may make a fund look fresh and exciting, but has anything really changed?

These securities are meant to be held until maturity, removing the burden of complex pricing that sometimes plagues bonds.

If you choose an actively managed portfolio, be sure that your manager isn't neglecting one of these four points.

Musicians of yore in tune with today's investing needs.

Protecting yourself from unscrupulous practices means knowing how to spot them.

Calculate returns frequently and accurately to ensure that you're meeting your investing goals.

In an economy with low interest rates, investors need to get creative in order to reap high returns.

Without luck virtually all actively managed funds would lag indexes: study.

George Soros once made $1 billion in a day. Find out what he's buying now.

Learn to profit by following the lead of some of Wall Street's most ruthless investors.

You don't need piles of money to begin investing. Even $50 is enough, if you know how to use it right.

If you need liquidity and safety on a sum of money, don't forgo potential interest by keeping the funds as cash.

PPNs guarantee to return at least 100% of the original investment and have the potential to return much more.

Ignore this article if you enjoy giving your money to millionaires.

This new wave in ethical investing is taking a new approach. Find out how it differs from its predecessors.

The legal jargon of this document can be daunting. Find out how to get to the important stuff.

This investment provides security, but its returns may not be adequate for long-term investors.

The best managers produced long-term, market-beating returns and helped investors build big nest eggs. Find out who made the cut.

The SEC recently proposed new rules for large traders. Does this tracking protect investors and the market, or is the SEC getting too involved?

Moving from equities to currencies requires you to adjust how you interpret quotes, margin, spreads and rollovers.

Learn how rate changes can affect home prices and how you can keep up.

Mealy-mouthed language may have opposite of intended effect.

These funds can provide stable returns for those who depend on their investment income.

Survivorship bias erases substandard performers, distorting overall mutual fund returns.

This asset class has left much of its unstable past behind. Find out how to invest in it.

Determine how fund managers are doing by sizing them up against their peers.

Here we examine some telling patterns in the relation between countries' interest rates and their currency pairs.

From trading based on weather to the next Hollywood blockbuster, these new derivatives show the investing world's innovation.

High returns come at a price, but country funds may still be a good bet.

Rebalancing your portfolio will protect you from risk and ensure that your investments are performing at their best.

Decreases in mutual fund classes and the growing use of ETFs means the future of mutual funds will be anything but smooth.

From the founding of Sin City to the world's largest IPO, find out what historic financial events occurred this week.

Big investors are calling for more regulations, while others are up in arms at the ideas. So who's right?

Learn how to tell if a fund in flux is still a suitable investment.

Have you ever admired a piece of art and wished you had the money to own it? Art funds may be one way to get a stake in this profitable market.

We provide some classic and lesser-known titles to add to your collection.

Thanks to the SEC you can look at the companies and industries that 5 mega-investors are pouring their billions into.

Learn how investors use strategies to reduce the impact of negative events on investments.

New, more precise mutual fund style analysis shows active management still underperforms over time.

They're hard to predict, but commodities cycles provide valuable information for traders.

Yes, it is possible to consistently beat the stock market.

We look at managers that could be poised to deliver market-beating returns in 2010, and how we can participate.

They don't exist, because micro-caps are too small for index funds and ETFs to invest in.

The Russell Investments and MSCI Barra style classification systems can help you pick the right mutual fund - if you know how they work.