Banking

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.

Creating allocation "no-trade zones" can ease the pressure to make an immediate sale in a soaring asset class.

Prospect theory suggests that investors feel more pain from an investment's decline than pleasure from its rise, and advisors can incorporate this into their interactions with clients.

What’s changed over the past year in constructing the right portfolio for our clients? Absolutely nothing. Here are the keys to portfolio construction, this year and next.

To be successful and get the most out of blogging, advisors have to become three things: a strategist, a thought leader and a marketer.

Email is the original social media and demands advisors' attention. Respect other peoples' time and free up more of your own by quickly getting their attention, delivering your message and outlining the next steps.

Reaching the ultra-high-net worth audience requires a more personalized approach than traditional marketing techniques.