Long term investments

Do-it-yourself-minded investors have never had more places to put their savings, writes Bloomberg’s Nir Kaissar.

More than 40% of Black and Hispanic adults say they have used money from a savings or retirement account to pay their bills since the outbreak began, a survey finds.

A significant push to use the precious metal as portfolio insurance may create a self-reinforcing spiral that upends its appeal as a hedge.

The funds had posted gains over the past decade, but have suffered losses amid this year's coronavirus-driven volatility.

As inflows soar and market dislocations vanish, an industry that consigned to history two major disruptions of the pandemic crash is back.

The results were “not just predicated on expense ratios,” an expert says.

With return targets growing ever more elusive, many investors are willing to take their chances with private debt and equity.

Even some of the industry’s cheapest products “may be overpriced” in that they’re “mirroring a passive index,” an expert says.

As the S&P 500 bottomed in late March, mom-and-pop darlings enjoyed weeks of inflows. Since then, the trend has shifted.

Analysis of their performance — and fees — may reveal some surprises.

The percentage of workers who say they are ready to retire has dropped by more than 5% in last month, a survey found.

“These funds got an assist from the Fed when they were told they would backstop the higher end of the high-yield credit industry,” an expert says.

“People are just saying, ‘Why should I pay for an active manager when most of them lose to the benchmark anyway?’ This is a big deal,” an expert says.

“I do believe that clients sometimes get too caught up in expense ratios,” an expert says.

Analysis of funds that have sustainable equivalents shows there’s neither a long-term edge nor a sacrifice for picking one strategy over the other.

Steady gains made in equity markets last year were "clearly a tailwind,” an expert says.

Stock plunges can hurt more than some clients may know, due to their asymmetrical relationship with gains.

“Investment allocations can differ from one fund to another, and so do the expense ratios,” an expert cautions.