Investments

Commodities have been on a tear as investors have sought alternatives to the volatile equity market, but several market experts believe that now is still a great time to buy, even though prices are high.

Experts gaze into their crystal balls, and surprisingly, agree on most predictions for this year.

Behavioral finance has been kicking around the halls of academia for several decades, but now some financial companies are finding ways to apply these concepts in the real world.

The key to handling complex issues associated with succession and estate planning is remaining impartial.

As confidence in global currencies wanes, the world's appetite for gold will increase.

In the first 11 months of 2010, assets held in exchange-traded funds increased 19.4%, according to Investment Company Institute figures. In the last 11 months of 2010, assets grew 56.9%.

After three years of cautious spending and paying down debt, American households have significantly improved their balance sheets. Yet consumer confidence slipped this month as more people worried about the job outlook.

Although Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts modest global growth in 2011, it does predict that stock prices around the world will rise by more than 15% and that the S&P 500 will rise by 9%.

Exchange-traded funds have made for some ugly headlines. They played an integral role in the May 6 flash crash, and more recently a controversy erupted over whether prices could crash on heavily shorted ETFs. Though many consider those fears unfounded, these increasingly popular investments nonetheless pose risks, and financial advisers should be cautious.

New data released from Morningstar shows two of its indexes faced a more difficult month in November, as the asset class in general falls short of matching 2009’s performance.

Spectrem Group announced Wednesday that its Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index rose seven points in December to end the year at 7.

A new report from Standard & Poor’s shows that home prices and annual growth rates have declined from earlier this year, pointing to a double-dip.

Despite dire warnings of imminent government collapse, since the middle of 2009, only three municipal issues in the “safe” sectors--general obligation, tax backed and essential services—have defaulted, according to Municipal Market Advisor’s data.

Municipal market groups next year will face an uphill battle trying to get Congress to resurrect the Build America Bond program and other bond-related tax incentives that expire Dec. 31.

A new report from Toronto-based Bullion Management Group urges investors to buffer their investments with bullion.

Over the past couple of years, small and midsize banks have happily positioned their wealth management businesses as alternatives to those of big, wounded banks and brokerage houses.

MFS Investment Management has historically been best known for its bond funds—but it’s the firm’s Municipal High-Income Fund (MMHYX) that stands out as a gem of consistency.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index, which gauges the confidence of institutional investors as measured by their exposure to equities, rose eight points to 104.4 in December, up from 96.4 in November. A reading of 100 is neutral.

In December, adviser confidence in the U.S. economy and stock market reached its highest mark since February 2007, according to the Adviser Confidence Index, a benchmark that gauges adviser views.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased slightly in December to 52.5, down from 54.3 in November.