ETF Strategies By Motley Fool Staff ETFs offer an ever-increasing array of investing opportunities — they can be optioned, shorted, hedged, and bundled. Still, most individual investors should stick to a few simple ETF strategies. Sick of hearing about the fun everyone else is having with Exchange-Traded Funds? Don’t worry: Your invitation is in the [...]

Battle Royale, ETFs vs Mutual Funds by Kirt Christensen A knowing, involved investor that would like to be involved in big picture trends, will use ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) knowing they will have an advantage over using conventional Mutual Funds. ETFs are more cost and work effective, and you know what you are investing in. [...]

Introduction   While many Americans have spent years planning for their retirements, a great many of them have made a basic discovery once they reach that plateau. Namely, that there are some issues that simple math and time will not necessarily resolve. If you are near retirement or have retired, listed below are several common [...]

The US bond to S&P yield ratio has reached historic levels that have normally signaled a bottom in equities. Typically, equity markets have entered into long term bull markets after reaching such historic ratio levels within 1 week to 2 months from peaking. See chart below.

From Traditional Pension Plans to the 401k It has been 36 years since the passage of ERISA (Employment Retirement Income Security Act) and as a result there has been a dramatic migration from traditional pension plans to 401k plans. This move to 401ks from traditional pensions has shifted the investment risk and savings obligations to [...]

The principles of diversifying your investments is a modern one. Simply stated, if you choose to concentrate in only but a few areas such as only stock, bond or mutual funds, you are actually increasing the amount of risk you are exposed to for the given return you expect to make. This is true regardless [...]

The near-term outlook remains clouded and uncertain. The main issue keeping the market in this volatile range is coming from overseas. The sovereign debt problems in the eurozone require policy actions to get peripheral countries on the right fiscal path and ensure their funding until the European banks are sufficiently insulated and a partial default [...]

A recent report by McKinsey & Co. predicts that the actively managed exchange traded fund business will take off and hit the $1 trillion mark within a decade. Thus far, actively managed ETFs account for 1% of all ETFs, and in the U.K., where the study is focused, the percentage is lower. Actively managed ETFs [...]

Retire Smart, An Introduction   While many Americans have spent years planning for their retirements, a great many of them have made a basic discovery once they reach that plateau. Namely, that there are some issues that simple math and time will not necessarily resolve. If you are near retirement or have retired, listed below [...]

It’s a well-known law of physics that everything falls at the same rate. But as frustrated motorists have had reason to notice lately, that law doesn’t apply to gas prices. You aren’t imagining it: Usually, the price of gas rises much faster than it falls. This phenomenon has held true for decades, and recent price [...]