Banking

Investors often make mistakes when buying and selling art. Most novices will first call an auction house, which may not be unbiased about its own program.

A small amount of gold in a portfolio can act as a good alternative asset to diversify risk.

To include real estate in a portfolio, buying rental property may be more practical than investing in tax liens or making private loans.

Though private, non-traded REITs have very high loads and ongoing expenses, low cost REITs can have a place as alternatives in our clients' portfolios.

Though private, non-traded REITs have very high loads and ongoing expenses, low cost REITs can have a place as alternatives in our clients' portfolios.

Gold’s role as an alternative investment might be reduced with Washington moving back from the brink of default.

Private equity funds have had superior returns, but risks can be magnified if investors don’t know where their money will go.

Gold’s role as an alternative investment might be reduced with Washington moving back from the brink of default.

Money market funds and liquid bank accounts currently lack returns but offer safety as well as liquidity.

Saving a few basis points on expenses is nice, but the critical issue is finding an ETF that does what you want it to do.

Some assets work best in a tax-advantaged retirement plan while others belong in a taxable account.

Staggering income annuities may help address clients' anxiety about long life expectancy and low investment yields. Here are two different approaches.

Narrow investment strategies and narrow fund categories tend to result in worse results for investors.

It is more important to rebalance in order to maintain a consistent asset allocation than it is to choose the right allocation in the first place.

Tax costs are too high, and clients need to take advantage of losses when they are available.

Contrarian investors believe it's better to buy low, but just because a fund has been down doesn't mean that a rise is inevitable.

High-quality bond funds are much less risky than some investors believe and are not susceptible to bubbles.

In the long term -- and in the extremely long term -- funds with the lowest market caps have the highest ranking.

One of the benefits of an investment philosophy is that it can provide your clients with more consistent experiences and help them feel more confident in your advice. But if your philosophy is based on forecasting which stock or market sector will be "hot" then those client experiences might not be very consistent.

With low valuations and improving investor sentiment, emerging markets equities may rebound from their recent correction.