Morningstar

With an average gain of nearly 40%, the following mutual funds and ETFs are narrowly invested in the most attractive segments of the market.

As the sector grows to over $30 trillion in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, one popular approach consists of excluding offenders.

Funding a Roth account, for example, may not offer upfront tax deductions, but withdrawals are tax-free.

The SEC’s recently passed ETF modernization rule, which expands choice in the market, “is probably the end of the mutual fund industry.”

Despite their high fees and double-digit returns, nearly all have even outperformed themselves so far this year.

The $10.1 billion fund’s star manager, well known for his contrarian investments, held on to a short position against U.S. Treasurys even as bonds rallied.

The top 20 nearly doubled their gains over the last year, data show.

High-deductible plans open the door to tax breaks for high-income investors, an expert says.

In a little-noticed rule change, mutual funds no longer disclose their shrinking BD commission load-sharing payments.

“Not every muni is trying to achieve the same thing,” an expert says.

“The combination of low rates, curbs on state and local tax deductions, and consistent economic expansion have been a nice tailwind,” an analyst says.

At more than twice the price of the average fund, many with the even biggest gains still underperformed the broader market over the last decade.

Deviation from the broader market has left more than half of these products with losses during a time the Dow and S&P 500 each posted double-digit gains.

At 84 basis points, the average expense ratio is over 40 basis points pricier than what investors paid on average last year.

Narrowly focused investment strategies are a recipe for “feast or famine,” an analyst says.

When pitted against the broader market, the top 20 outperformed both the Dow and S&P 500 by more than 5 percentage points.

Clients are advised to consider delaying their Social Security benefits, as up to 85% will be subject to income taxes, an expert says.

Nearly all bested the broader market at roughly a third the price of the average fixed income product.

The glitch raises questions about the rapid growth of socially responsible investing and index strategies in particular.

Although many underperformed the broader market, just over half posted double-digit gains.