Mutual funds

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

Worries about the proliferation of new funds were high at the first Bogleheads conference without the company’s former leader.

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

The regulator’s expanding number of share-class cases fill in the details it says have been missing from Form ADV disclosures about conflicts of interest.

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.

Clients should consider paying more deductible expenses before year-end if their total itemizable deductions will be close to their standard deduction amount.

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

Fee compression and commoditization of investment products over the past decade are threatening already slim margins in asset management.

Since this March, almost 100 firms have settled with the regulator for approximately $173 million. Other cases are still pending.

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.

Someone with a long-term investing horizon is generally not helped by bailing out of a well-diversified, multi-asset portfolio. Here are some options for them, and some talking points for you.

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.

Cash flow has subsided and market conditions have changed since the fund was closed to most new accounts in 2016.

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

The annual “evolution revolution” report and an analyst’s overview show how fiduciary advice is reshaping wealth management.

Some accuse index funds of promoting monopolies and distorting markets, among other horrors, but nothing has stemmed the wave of inflows to passive.

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

Investment in technology and data management is becoming increasingly critical to distribution, and to managing regulation, reporting and operations.

The IBD trade group launched a public campaign after more than 80 cases this year alleging inadequate disclosure of mutual fund fees and compensation.