Portfolio construction

It’s often hard to know just what is driving investor decisions.

Clients are advised to diversify their tax positioning when investing for retirement, one expert says. This can be done by contributing to three buckets: taxable, IRA (pretax) and Roth (posttax).

In this circus of an industry, what chance does an average investor have of finding somebody who will actually work on his or her behalf?

AdvisoryWorld will operate as an independent subsidiary under the No. 1 IBD while adding new offerings for its 30,000 advisor and institutional clients.

Once deeply wary of digital tools, planners may be turning a corner.

In today’s world, you can count on clients and prospects to question your motives, challenge your facts and respond emotionally, not rationally.

Distributors may be demanding more support in the areas of investor education, risk management and governance.

Small company stocks stumbled in the very recent past but have outperformed over the long term.

The wealth in retirement accounts could shrink by that much due to annual defaults on 401(k) loans. The projected loss is about 2.7% of the $7.8 trillion in retirement accounts.

The "Rule of 100" follows the rule-of-thumb of growing more conservative as investors grow older, but it also may be obsolete since it was developed when interest rates were higher.

The mutual fund giant's head of wealth management technology says there's a way to improve how financial planning tools work together.

Prepare yourself for the next big market downturn which may be exacerbated by highly leveraged derivatives.

Advanced analytics is helping generate alpha, experts say.

The effective tax rate on qualified dividends for those in the highest income tax bracket fell.

The net outflows are staggering, but recent studies show the relationship is far more nuanced.

These loans can be a good option in some cases, but they're not a cheap way to borrow money so senior citizens with good credit may have cheaper alternatives.

Clients only get to reap the rewards of returns after investment expenses are paid.

To experience higher potential gains, clients need to be willing to tolerate losses at least occasionally. Striking the right balance between risk and reward is the tricky part.

Many investors remember that the S&P 500 lost 39% in 2008, but few recall that the 10-year government bond gained 21% that year.

Morningstar metrics can help advisors evaluate how vulnerable a company is in the transition away from a fossil-fuel intensive economy.