With credit markets jittery and the economy on the lip of recession (or in recession, depending upon whom you ask), real estate funds have plummeted. During the 12 months ending in January 2008, the category lost 21 percent. Should investors stay...
Academics have long scorned actively managed mutual funds. Instead of spending money on managers who attempt to beat the market (however that is defined), academics argue, investors should stick with index funds. Lately the index proponents have...
Competing fiercely for the attention of investors, fund companies have brought out a wave of specialized offerings. Many of the choices which include mutual funds and exchange-trade funds focus on hot-sounding industries, or growing areas of the...
Registered Rep.: Why has there been so much buzz about actively managed ETFs? Sonya Morris: The ETF market has grown at a torrid pace in recent years, but the vast majority of individual investors' assets (some $9 trillion) are still in mutual...
Just about everybody and their brother has an opinion about the potential for a recession. Are we headed for one? Are we in one right now? Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently weighed in on the matter in a speech, saying that...
Wall Street is shifting loyalties. So far in the 2008 election cycle, the securities and investment industry has showered the Democratic Party with contributions. The balance began to shift in 2006, when the industry gave 53 percent of donations...
According to Bespoke Investment Group's Swimsuit Issue Indicator, the S&P 500 performs best in years when an American appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. (That has happened 15 times over the past 30 years.) When an...
There's no such thing as an easy route to independence. But there are some things reps can do to ease the transition. Consultants say the most critical time for an RIA startup is likely about three to six months prior to its launch. The actions...
There are some topics in this business that seem to pop up again and again. This month's cover story addresses one of them: The difference between registered reps (Series 7 holders) and investment advisor reps (Series 65 holders). The investing...