It goes with the territory: During high-anxiety times like these, when market volatility makes even the strongest stomachs churn, you can expect to deal with more than your share of jittery clients. But nervous clients are not the only kinds of...

It is a delicious bit of irony that the high-income earners who usually foot a disproportionate share of the federal income-tax bill are also (by definition) precluded from funding a Roth IRA. Therefore, their income-tax rate during retirement may...

Ask a financial expert about the biggest pitfalls that small businesses encounter at tax time, and they'll probably point to a lack of planning. Last ditch efforts, like paying off expenses and putting money into a retirement account, may...

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...

Bear markets are shrinking. According to Leuthold Weeden Institutional Research, in a typical post-WWII bear market, the S&P 500 declined 30 percent over 15 months. By comparison, bear markets typically saw declines of 37 percent over 20 months...

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...

If you work for one of the major wirehouses, you're in pain. If you're a commission-based rep, business is slow. And if you are a fee-based rep, your fees are dropping along with the value of client accounts. And if you are in a deferred...

Wilkes Thomas Martin III joined Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc. as a financial advisor and senior vice president in the firm's Greenville office. Prior to joining Morgan Keegan, Martin was a corporate client group director and senior investment...

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...