August 2008

Index Funds News and Views

* Index Funds That Can Beat the S&P 500
Investors in S&P 500 index funds have faced discouraging times... As evidence, the doubters point to a variety of index funds that have outpaced the S&P 500 in recent years ... But there are a handful of index funds that seem likely to outdo the S&P over the ...

* Indexing Is Great, But Don't Forget to Diversify Your Holdings
A diversified portfolio, which, in addition to US stocks, includes bonds , REITs , international stocks , commodities and other asset classes would have done better. Putting equal monthly amounts into index funds tracking the S&P 500, bonds, international stocks, and REITs would garner an annualized return of around 4. Certainly, 4% is nothing to brag about.

* Simplify Your Life (SmartMoney Magazine Cover Story) at SmartMoney.com
... can meet their goals with just three funds: one domestic stock fund, one international stock fund and one bond fund. It also helps to stick with low-priced index funds, since high fees can hurt your returns. Other tips: * Some retirement plans offer "auto-escalation," which automatically increases the rate at which you're saving by, say, 1 percent a year.

* If You Can't Beat the Indexes, Join Them
... invest in a wide variety of different types of assets, index funds have efficiently given many investors ways to get into investments ... can put together an entire diversified portfolio composed solely of index funds... are easily intimidated by investing, few things are simpler than index funds... If you choose never to buy anything but index funds, then you're already managing your finances better than many people ...

* When Buying an Index Fund Is Stupid
For many investors, it's hard to beat a broad-market index fund... think you can beat the market (and thus broad-based index funds, as well) via some carefully chosen managed mutual funds... in addition to such funds, or simply instead of them, index funds offer compelling performance for minimal effort.

ETFs News Update

* Why ETFs Will Overtake Traditional Mutual Funds
... been a small but vocal contingent of people in the ETF business that have been saying for years that ETFs would eventually make huge inroads into market share in the ... year over year, the taxable money is increasingly going into ETFs, and there's now universal recognition, at least, of ETFs by financial advisors ...

* Mutual Funds Aren’t Putting Up the Numbers, So Why Aren’t You In ETFs?
As the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry continues to grow, the question arises as to ... front when it comes to the battle between actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds... mutual fund industry's tough decade has paved the way for exchange traded funds (ETFs... short duration funds being a recent trend in fixed-income exchange traded funds (ETFs), few of these ETFs actually invest like a real ...

* Signs of an ETF Backlash
Then, ETFs became a fad, the butt of Wall Street jokes as ETF after ETF sliced and diced the stock market in ridiculously specific ways ... ETF providers pull together a basket of equities that purport to benefit from some trend, then create an ETF based on those stocks ... Apparently investors decided they could live without an ophthalmology ETF; a “dermatology and wound care” ETF; or an ETF focused on orthopedic repair ...

* Inverse ETFs on Market's Good Side
Inverse ETFs have been in existence for about two years, yet the ... These were the first ETFs that allowed investors the ability to gain short exposure to ... The idea for this family of ETFs dates to 1997, when ProFunds launched bear market index funds ... The ProShares family of ETFs, which also includes ETFs that are designed to provide magnified exposure to underlying indices ...

* Investor-Friendly Website AboutETFs.com Finds Best ETF Resources; AboutETFs.com launches a carefully-selected list of resources, sites, reviews and portfolio tools for ETF investors. There is no subscription fee and the newsletter strives to remain unbiased.
Investor-Friendly Website AboutETFs.com Finds Best ETF Resources; AboutETFs.com launches a carefully-selected list of resources, sites, reviews and portfolio tools for ETF investors ... ETF Investors will particularly benefit from the "FIVE BEST LIST" website ... winners compete for top kudos in categories such as BEST ETF BOOKS, BEST ETF TOOLS and BEST ETF LISTS.

Personal Finance News

* Six Awful Truths About Personal Finance
With the weakening economy, people find they need to pay closer attention to their personal finances... Jeffrey Strain has been a freelance personal finance writer for the past 10 years helping people save money and get their finances in ... (Jeffrey Strain) Six Awful Truths About Personal Finance.

* Personal Finance: 4 Unusual Ways To Save Money
Chris Walters Personal Finance: 4 Unusual Ways To Save Money.

* Personal Finance: Making ends meet on minimum wage
Have a personal finance question... (Claudia Buck) Personal Finance: Making ends meet on minimum wage.

* A Pile of Money Is Not Enough
By underplaying the personal side of personal finances -- and focusing mainly on the accumulation and preservation part of wealth management -- we sell our happiness short. The money shrink is in Changing the way you assess financial success means delving into the psychological ...

* The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: Aug. 18-22
In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of Aug... The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: Aug.

* Ways to Save
... businesses have cyclical periods, so owners need a reserve to supplement their personal finances when not enough revenue comes in," says Glinda Bridgforth, author of Girl ... be difficult to save if you don't have a steady paycheck, but personal finance experts say that the key to building your cushion is to start ...

* Time Is Money (Consumer Action: Personal Finance) at SmartMoney.com
Time Is Money (Consumer Action: Personal Finance) at SmartMoney.com.

* Money: Personal Finance Roundup
Meg Marco Money: Personal Finance Roundup.

* Personal finance for dummies (only)
Despite our repeated protestations that we don’t cover personal finance here on FT Alphaville, certain felt collars persist in sending us press releases on “recession proofing your retirement”, and similar... GoGood job we’re not personal finance columnists, after all. Personal finance for dummies (only.

Mutual Funds Weekend Reading

* Whatever You Do, Avoid Mutual Funds
I'm here to steer you away from dastardly mutual funds and toward more sensible investments... In the meantime, let me list the countless drawbacks of mutual funds. Diversification If you invest in a mutual fund, you'll instantly be invested in, say, 50 to several hundred ... Professional management Some favor mutual funds because they allow trained professionals, some with sound ethics and ...

* Mutual Funds Aren’t Putting Up the Numbers, So Why Aren’t You In ETFs?
... this by explaining the results found in a study of mutual fund returns from 1979 to 1998, where mutual funds underperformed the Vanguard 500 Index Fund by a 2.8% per ... The myth of the mutual fund is clearly apparent here, as the chances of picking a winning mutual fund in this period is less than 4 ...

* Best and Worst Long-Short Mutual Funds
Perhaps this is why long-short mutual funds have grown assets nearly 20% this year, while most other fund ... not only buy stocks for the long term (as other equity mutual funds do) but also short stocks, betting that their prices will fall ... Best and Worst Long-Short Mutual Funds.

* Jittery mutual fund holders redeem $27 billion
Investors redeemed an estimated $27 billion from stock mutual funds in July, according to a report released today by Strategic Insight Inc., a mutual fund consulting firm in New York ... Included money market and bond fund gains, mutual funds as a whole enjoyed net inflows in July of $52 ... Jittery mutual fund holders redeem $27 billion.

* Investors Stay with Mutual Funds in Down Economy
But as most hold onto their investments, mutual fund clients are seeking greater safety, by favoring money-market and ... mutual funds saw a net inflow of $52 billion during July, as ... said the findings are in line with historic data showing mutual fund investors' withdrawals... continues, the trend "may slowly trigger improving flows for equity mutual funds in coming months," said Strategic Insight's research director, Avi Nachmany ...

* Are hedge funds more expensive than mutual funds?
... about the banking industry, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, mutual funds, capital markets, asset management and SEC regulations... typical 2 and 20 fee structure, are more expensive than mutual funds, with a roughly 120 basis point expense ratio... fee for the active management components of 30 large equity mutual funds.

* Sorting the gold-medal mutual funds from the also-rans
If only our mutual fund portfolios could stir the same kind of passion... Sorting the gold-medal mutual funds from the also-rans - MarketWatch... Sorting the gold-medal mutual funds from the also-rans.

ETFs News and Views

* Get Lazy with Dividend Exchange Traded Funds
And in the investment world, few things are simpler than exchange traded funds (ETFs... Get Lazy with Dividend Exchange Traded Funds.

* ETF Update: Fund of Fund ETFs, Steel, Oil and Gas
ETF managers have taken a cue from hedge funds and mutual funds and created ETFs that specifically hold shares of other ETFs ... The proliferation of ETFs has given way to some creative ETF ideas and strategies, and they keep getting even more creative ... Tom Lydon ETF Update: Fund of Fund ETFs, Steel, Oil and Gas.

* Fund of Fund ETFs Can Be Fun For Investors Who Want to Take It Easy
Exchange traded fund (ETF) managers have taken a cue from hedge funds and mutual funds and created ETFs that specifically hold shares of other ETFs ... has broken some new ground in the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry their launch of the first line of ETFs of ETFs in the United States ...

* New Hedge Fund ETFs Are On the Way
New hedge fund ETFs are on the way, and not a moment too soon. IndexIQ has filed to launch the first family of ETFs designed to emulate the performance of hedge fund strategies... that the funds will hold a changing portfolio of other ETFs, including equity, fixed income, commodities and leveraged/inverse ETFs.

* August 18, 2008 - A Simple Test of Sector ETF Pair Trading
As a first step, we look for ETF pairs that have historically moved together... return tracking errors for all possible pairs among the nine ETFs over the entire sample period, with the lowest tracking errors ... the statistical and economic thresholds, we go long the undervalued ETF and short the overvalued ETF at the daily close in equal dollar amounts using all ...

* Three Biotech ETFs: A Way To Follow the 'Smart Money' into Healthcare
I always like to look at holdings of the ETFs because the construction is so different, and I don't like ETFs that are heavily weighted to the top 2-4 holdings ... tear and despite a complete blowup in Biogen ( BIIB ) the ETF is performing well... actually be curious to see how the composition of this ETF changes once (if) DNA is acquired.

* ETFs Have Got You Covered
The exchange traded fund (ETF) fan club keeps on growing... reveal that financial advisors are starting to prefer sector-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) over individual stocks... For any exchange traded fund (ETF) investor, diversification is key... Who's left standing in the real estate exchange traded fund (ETF) category.

Index Funds News

* Will Vanguard's Tweaks Lead To New ETF?
Vanguard has taken out its wrench and tinkered with its Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX) by throwing out the fund-of-funds concept and investing in individual stocks.

* Asset allocation helps mitigate risk
... general are a very volatile asset class but there are index funds that invest in many small companies, thus mitigating the risk ... Many index funds attempt to match the performance of the S&P 500 ... general are a very volatile asset class but there are index funds that invest in many small companies, thus mitigating the risk ...

* How Portfolio Laziness Pays Off
If so, a passive investing strategy is an alternative to paying a manager whose performance is beaten by the averages. Passive investing essentially means you are buying an index fund. It doesn't require a lot of time to set up, and it is usually the least expensive option. How Portfolio Laziness Pays Off.

* Defining a Set of Core Asset Classes
... propose the following “starter list” of asset classes, along with index funds (Exchange Traded Funds) that track them... Too many investors have been trained that combining broad index funds for large-, mid-, and small-cap funds is a good ... a horrible time for a shotgun approach--such as an index funds or mutual funds.

* Black Hole
By some estimates, commodity index funds now have upwards of $250 billion in assets, compared with just $13 billion at the end of 2003. Nobody knows how much hedge funds and the proprietary trading desks of big banks have been betting on crude, but it is safe to assume that the figure is large.

Personal Finance

* Finance Lessons Olympians Can Teach You
... drama ready to unfold over the next two weeks, you may completely forget about personal finance. But you can actually learn a lot about personal finance from top athletes... Jeffrey Strain has been a freelance personal finance writer for the past 10 years helping people save money and get their finances ...

* Money Talks: Wikis for Investment and Finance
... this take Wikinvest away from the older, static model of personal finance articles, analysis and ratings and into the wikified world of ... and it allows people to post, catalog and comment on personal finance blogs... I was frustrated that the personal finance blogosphere didn't really have a center spot," she told LinuxInsider ...

* When Buy-and-Hold Investors Should Sell
Terry Savage is an expert on personal finance and also appears as a commentator on national television on issues related to investing and the financial markets. Savage's personal finance column in the Chicago Sun-Times is nationally syndicated. She was the first woman trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and is a registered investment adviser for stocks and futures.

* The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: Aug. 11-15
In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of Aug... The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: Aug.

* Money: Personal Finance Roundup
Ben Popken Money: Personal Finance Roundup.

* Yes, You Can Create Your Own Financial Plan
Christine Benz is Morningstar's director of personal finance and the editor of the Morningstar PracticalFinance newsletter... While most personal-finance books, magazines, and Web sites focus on the "how tos" of creating your financial plan, here are some of the ... Do you have a question about personal finance or investing.

* Loose Change: Educating yourself on Social Security
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , www.cbpp.org/pubs/socsec.htm Analyses of the Social Security system by topic or date. The Social Security Network , socsec.org Insights and views on a variety of topics related to Social Security and personal finances. U.S. Social Security Administration , www.ssa.gov Focal point for all things related to Social Security.

* Roundup: Top Personal Finance Blogs
Roundup: Top Personal Finance Blogs.

* Social networking trend spreads to personal finance
Javelin Social networking trend spreads to personal finance.

* When Hiring an Advisor Makes Financial Sense
... to be your own planner if you don't have a complicated financial picture," says Morningstar personal finance director Christine Benz... fee is $150 to $240, depending on where you live, says Sheryl Garrett, author of "Personal Finance Workbook for Dummies," and founder of the Garrett Planning Network, a network of independent advisors ...

Mutual Funds News

Loose Change: Tips for picking mutual funds
There are hundreds of funds to choose from. So how should you go about investing in the right one? Here are some guidelines from Daniel Jimenez of Bankrate.com that you’d be wise to follow:

Pay attention to mutual funds' back-office changes
Meet your fund's other managers

How to make better mutual fund market picks
If you're in the market for a mutual fund, you'll want to make sure to pick the right one. There are hundreds of funds to choose from. So how should you go about investing in the right one?

What Are All the Types of Mutual Funds Available?
This is important to do so that you can find the mutual fund that is the right fit for you. If not, it is like putting your shoes on the wrong feet. You’re not going to be able to stand on your feet for too long. ...

How To Stay On Top Of Your Mutual Fund Investment
It's also fair to assume that if you have a personal insurance protection, chances are your financial planner or insurance agent might have also sold you some form of mutual funds in the past. Many insurance policy these days are also ...

Institutional Mutual Funds
In response to a comment today I would like to give a quick summary of Institutional Mutual funds and how they differ from “investor”, “retail” or “open” mutual funds. What we will see is that the differences are quite small. ...

Vanguard Mutual Funds
The Vanguard Mutual Funds are globally known as one of the best performing mutual funds, and that too they are usually classified as Low Cost mutual Funds. Below, we present a list of Mutual Funds offered by Vanguard Mutual Fund House. ...

Offshore Mutual Funds? Why prefer Mutual Fund Investments.
It is true that there are several different mutual funds that are available to investors, but the basic construction of a mutual fund is that a firm created it that takes the money of many investors and invests that money into stocks, ...

Winning With Mutual Funds
How about the US mutual fund market? On average, less than 10% of mutual funds beat the S&P 500 index each year! What’s worse is that it is a different 10% each year. Less than 3% of mutual funds are able to beat the S&P 500 Index over ...

Index Funds News Update

* Why some financial-sector index funds fared worse than others
First, an index fund is different than an index... divergence of 5% or more makes people squeamish about whether they're in an index fund or an actively managed fund... Why some financial-sector index funds fared worse than others - MarketWatch... Why some financial-sector index funds fared worse than others.

* Investing Advice From the Bogleheads
The Bogleheads , devotees of Vanguard founder and index-fund pioneer Jack Bogle, run a highly active online forum of about 9,000 registered posters ... But before making that move, I would spend $14 on Mark Hebner's book Index Funds: The 12-Step Program for Active Investors or read it online.

* Interview with Andrew Allen, Humble Money
Perhaps it would be better to invest in some index funds and get another job or start a business... I still like index funds and respect the markets as being pretty efficient but not yet perfect. Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers - I think you need to be an investor to generate real wealth, simply earning a high salary won’t ...

* Index Investing: Refusing To Believe In Magic
building a portfolio around index funds isn’t really settling for average.

* Best and Worst Taxable Bond Index Funds
Not all index funds, however, do a great job tracking their indexes... Keep in mind that bond index funds tend to hold more government securities, which are particularly sensitive ... You Are Viewing: Best and Worst Taxable Bond Index Funds (Morningstar, Lehman Brothers, iShares Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury, iShares ... Best and Worst Taxable Bond Index Funds.

* The best way to save for college
In that case, consider a tax-efficient index fund instead... You can transfer the money to another beneficiary, but if there's any doubt about your kid's intentions, go with the index fund. Also, if you're a fairly savvy investor, you may not want to make a 529 your first savings tool.

Exchange-Traded Funds News

* An Expert Take on ETFs: New Markets, Future Growth
On ETF growth : "I think flows will just simply continue to go into ETFs because people will continue to prefer ETFs over mutual funds ... get calls from people telling me they are moving into ETFs, away from mutual funds... Hedge-fund-like ETFs is an area we have not seen yet, a possible new space for ETF providers to enter ...

* Getting Past the ETF Clutter
But the number of ETFs has soared from fewer than 200 two years ago to ... With so many ETFs focusing on so many kinds of investments, how do you ... This sets up a competition among the first ETF -- the original SPDR ( SPY ), or "Spider," which tracks the S ... PowerShares Dynamic Large Cap Portfolio ( PJF ) and Vanguard Large Cap ETF ( VV.

* Big Changes For ETFs In 401(k) Plans?
... has been to leverage the asset manager's leadership position in ETFs to forge new growth paths into 529 plans for college ... big do you see the 529 market shaping up for ETF providers. Nestor: If you look at our position in the ETF market as a whole, we're the fourth-largest mutual funds ...

* ETF Movers: Retail ETFs Higher On Oil Slide (XRT, RTH); Commodity ETFs Down Again (GDX, KOL, XME)
StreetInsider.com ETF Movers: Retail ETFs are strong, but well off the highs, following the continued ... Commodity related ETFs are under pressure again on more fears of a global slowdown: Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX ) -3.8%, Market Vectors Coal ETF (AMEX: KOL ) -4.8%, iShares Silver Trust (AMEX: SLV ) -4.6%, SPDR ...

* Four ETFs For Long-Term Energy Bulls (XOP, XES, XLE, IEO)
... bullish on energy, however, there are several exchange-traded funds (ETF) that grant exposure to the group if you feel the ... For more on the difference between ETFs and mutual funds, check out Mutual Fund Or ETF: Which Is Right For You ... While this loss will impact the ETF also, the effect will be much smaller due to the broad based nature of the ETF ...

* July Takes a Warming to Financial ETFs
In July, exchange traded funds (ETFs) within the financial sector have demonstrated how a slight ... Exchange traded funds (ETFs) and the markets waited with bated breath for the ... More woes are hitting the financial sector, and the related exchange traded funds (ETFs) are reflecting the pain in early trading today ...

* Global Digest: ETFs that help you go global
Most likely, with almost 800 ETFs on the market, even ETF specialists like me are overwhelmed. That is why we are increasingly focusing on country-specific ETFs and have created ETFfolio.com for investment professionals, which, at this point, consists of 12 baskets of ETFs that match an investment goal or theme ...

* After Three Months Since Inception, Active ETFs Look Promising
... three-month anniversaries, the first active stock exchange traded funds (ETFs) have shown better results than their rival indexing funds... these positive first three months could draw investors toward active ETFs. Many investors see a few advantages for actively managed ETFs... WisdomTree has also launched four new currency ETFs that are classified as actively managed by the Securities and ...

* Three Excellent Emerging Market ETF's
They are the PowerShares FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF (PXH), the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High-Yielding Equity ETF (DEM), and the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Small Cap Dividend ETF (DGS ... In the Wisdom Tree ETFs, the top two countries represented in these ETF's are the same, with Taiwan holding top spot in both ...

* Eleven Large Volume Increase ETFs to Examine
... having a few idle moments, I constructed a screen of ETFs that have had volume increases of over 100% compared to ... PBE ) - PowerShares ETF Trust Dynamic Biot... PEJ ) - PowerShares ETF Trust Dynamic Leisure and Ent... PJP ) - PowerShares ETF Trust Dynamic Pharmacy Port... XBI ) - SPDR Series Trust DJWS REIT ETF priced at $69.20.

* Does Berkshire Represent the Best of Exchange-Traded Funds?
Looked at another way, why do we invest in exchange-traded funds and notes... If you had to invest in a conceptual exchange-traded vehicle with some of the things one likes about exchange-traded investing or a holding company that has more of those ... Gary Gordon Does Berkshire Represent the Best of Exchange-Traded Funds.

Personal Finance Update

* U.S. consumer confidence stops free fall according to RBC cash index
... attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal finance situations, savings and confidence to make large investments... is due largely to an improvement in Americans' expectations for personal finances and the economy as a whole... Currently, one-third (33 per cent) of respondents rate their personal finances as weak, down from 37 per cent last month.

* Homeowners get tax breaks in housing bill
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act doesn't only stave off foreclosures and help troubled lenders. First-time buyers, older homeowners and others also benefit.

* Money: Personal Finance Roundup
Ben Popken Money: Personal Finance Roundup.

* Dumb Money Move No. 1: Trust your friendly neighborhood bank with your life's savings
1: Trust your friendly neighborhood bank with your life's savings. Consumer experience , Personal finance. This post is part of a series where personal finance expert Dan Solin looks at money moves that may seem smart in tough economic times, but are actually quite dumb. See all 12.

* 6 investments in your health
Your spouse, your doctor, maybe even your kids have been nagging you for years to take better care of yourself. Now your personal-finance magazine is joining them. As if adding years to your life wasn't incentive enough, preventive care is also a ridiculously astute investment. It can save you thousands of dollars in avoided medical costs and add literally ...

* Dumb Money Move No. 11: Take extra risk with your investments to make up for recent losses
11: Take extra risk with your investments to make up for recent losses. Personal finance. This post is part of a series where personal finance expert Dan Solin looks at money moves that may seem smart in tough economic times, but are actually quite dumb. See all 12.

Mutual Funds News

* Best Money-Market Mutual Funds
... your money, especially in the old stalwart of money-market mutual funds... Money-market mutual funds, which come in both taxable and nontaxable flavors, have long ... One reason you might allocate to a money-market mutual fund, especially a nontaxable variety, could be your tax bracket, says ... A money-market mutual fund is a security (unlike a money-market account, which is ...

* How To Pick a Mutual Fund
NEW YORK -- If you're in the market for a mutual fund, you'll want to make sure to pick the right one ... Also check with independent research companies that cover mutual funds. Morningstar, www.morningstar.com, a mutual fund rating and data firm, is a great resource... Mutual funds are not thought of as extremely risky investments, mainly because ...

* Vanguard reopens two mutual funds
Vanguard reopens two mutual funds.

* Many Fund Managers Aren’t Eating Their Cooking, Making ETFs Look Delicious
... another reason to lean toward exchange traded funds (ETFs) over mutual funds... that will continually draw investors toward ETFs and away from mutual funds... Current regulations prevent mutual funds... There Is Plenty Of Market Space for Both ETFs and Mutual Funds In the Investment Universe... you think exchange traded funds (ETFs) will ever replace the mutual funds' place in the industry.

* Equity Mutual Funds Down In July
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Equity mutual funds produced negative returns in July, hitting investors with an average 1.8% loss... Equity Mutual Funds Down In July.

* Mutual funds for risk-averse investors
Investing through mutual funds is usually considered to be a safer bet for investors ... their size, professional expertise, and better knowledge of the market, mutual funds are expected to understand the market better and make better ... swinging and the investors lose money on the bourses, the mutual funds seem to be a better option.

Index Funds News and Views

* Active Funds Not Better In A Bear Market
Conventional wisdom says actively managed mutual funds beat the index during bear markets (and are thus better to hold than index funds.

* The Sandbox Portfolio
I have [X number of dollars] in an index fund in a rollover IRA... most investors will do best if they have 90% or so of their portfolio tucked away in index funds (he calls that the "lock box"), and use the remaining 10% to satisfy their urges to "play ...

* The World's Greatest Get-Rich Formula
... the stock market has been the most effective wealth-building vehicle of all. Plowing your money into a low-cost index fund wouldn't be a bad idea. But if you really want to maximize r , you'll need to allocate a portion of your portfolio to the best segment of the market over the past 50 years: small-cap value stocks.

* Top 5 ways to keep your financial advisor, stock broker or money manager honest
He is considering switching to index funds and where he would pay $18,000 per year... Also ask for the cost of an index fund alternative so that you can understand exactly what it is ... a benchmark who, net of fees, should outperform a comparable index fund which charges almost no fees.

No-Load Funds News

* Best bond fund bets: Core picks for income investors
The editor of The No-Load Fund Investor explains, "We favor both funds for many of the same reasons: both have experienced, top ... PIMCO Total Return is the world's biggest bond fund, and second large mutual fund of any stripe, with $128 billion in assets ... Its 10-year annualized return of 6% puts the fund in the top 5% of all intermediate-term bond funds over that time ...

* Saying Goodbye To a Lagging Fund Isn't Always a Good Move
While it certainly makes sense to abandon a fund that has fallen and can't get up, it's tough to ... Baird Advisory Services Research, looked at more than 1,300 funds, defining "high performers" as those that topped their benchmark by ... But Mark Salzinger, editor of the No-Load Fund Investor newsletter, put a sell rating on Miller's fund several months ago ...

* What to Do With $5,000
... that $5,000 is invested in a broad-market index fund, and it earns the market's historical average (never guaranteed, of ... As my colleague Rich Greifner has noted, mutual funds are the " Best... Some high-quality, low-cost managed mutual funds have proved to be even better than the market's average.

* The best articles on Fund Advice
I’ve said for more than a decade that Dimensional Fund Advisors has the best mutual funds in the world for investors who use professional advisors ... Here I compare and contrast these two great fund families... about the ways that investors shortchange themselves by buying load funds... was unhappy about my “almost religious zeal” in favor of no-load funds.

* Mutual-Fund Alternatives to Active ETFs
... these ballyhooed hybrids that boast the best qualities of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds... the same level of active portfolio management available in mutual funds, while also enjoying the discount pricing and anytime trading of ... Its Active ETFs include three stock funds and one fixed-income fund... Essentially, these are quant funds that use screens and mathematical models to build portfolios based ...

* With three funds, you can be diversified
If I have money to put into these funds, should I spread it evenly into each of the three, or should I put more into the stock funds to get them up to the bond fund balance ... is more important than whether those assets are held in no-load index mutual funds.

* Eight 'Lazy Portfolios' to wrestle the now official bear market
... a proven Nobel prizing-winning strategy: Well-diversified portfolios of no-load, low-cost index funds that require little balancing and no active trading, yet they'r ... And today with over 14,000 mutual funds to pick from, including over 1,000 index funds, all his funds are still indexed, and he only needs 11 to build ...

* The ultimate buy-and-hold strategy- 2008 Update
... easy to understand and easy to apply using low-cost no-load mutual funds... of assets – which is easily duplicated using a couple of no-load index funds, they would be more likely to achieve their long-term ... portfolio is now made up of 50 percent intermediate-term funds, 30 percent short-term funds and 20 percent in TIPS funds for inflation protection ...

* Avoid Investing Charges By Trading -- Firms, That Is
If you build your own portfolio, selecting no-load funds can save you more than 5 percent in sales charges ... If you invest in a fund of funds, such as a target-date retirement fund, make sure it doesn't charge a management fee on top of the expenses levied by the underlying funds ...

* The Stocks the Funds Are Buying
Jabil Circuit has plenty of fund fans, many of which are highly rated... today I'm going with the kid: Kevin O'Boyle of the no-load Presidio fund, which opened for business in 2005... He co-managed the market-beating Meridian Value (MVALX) fund with Rick Aster for close to a decade.

Exchange-Traded Funds News and Views

* Active ETFs Opening With A Bang
And along with other more active ETFs on the market, they've been handily beating their passive indexing ... Two of the first active ETFs that launched in mid-April are run by AER Advisors ... Another active ETF that came out in mid-April is the PowerShares Active ... Absent from the ETF's leading names are General Electric, AT&T, Chevron and Proctor ...

* July's Most Popular ETFs
... vehicles and last but not least, diversified investments, makes the ETF market the absolute perfect microcosm for determining trends in the ... TheStreet.com Ratings' monthly compilation of the 20 most popular ETFs during July makes this abundantly clear... three spots, leaving it as the fifth-highest dollar-volume ETF for July.

* Struggling ETFs
An article in this weekend's Wall Street Journal about ETFs with dwindling market caps caught our attention... The market cap of the largest ETF, SPY, is also greater than the sum of the market caps of the smallest 596 (84%) ETFs ... As shown, the Healthshares ETFs make up the majority of the list of ETFs with the lowest market caps ...

* Four Little Words Can Do Big ETF Portfolio Damage
... could do the most damage to your exchange traded fund (ETF) portfolio... Have you been playing defense with your exchange traded fund (ETF) portfolio lately... the emotions from your investing, whether it's exchange traded funds (ETFs) or something else, is one of the smartest things you ... a downward momentum, leaving more opportunity for exchange traded funds (ETFs) to.

* The Fright of the Chameleon: WSJ’s ‘Intelligent Investor’ and ETF Paranoia
But here we are in 2008, and ETFs (plus their siblings, exchange-traded notes) are becoming a bad ... According to indexuniverse.com, 204 ETFs or ETNs have total net assets of less than $10 ... In other words, nearly half of all ETFs are too small to survive... The real issue with small ETFs is that they trade by appointment, and good luck with ...

* The Decision to Invest In ETFs Involves Some Investigation
... had to go and ask - why should you invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs... The trouble with mid-caps and their exchange traded funds (ETFs) is that they don't get the same coverage in ... As far as exchange traded funds (ETFs) divvied up by cap size and growth vs ...

* Portfolio Protection from Exchange-Traded Funds
Portfolio Protection from Exchange-Traded Funds... But thanks to a torrent of financial innovation in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investors have more ability than ever to cope with ... A variety of exchange-traded funds rise when markets or sectors fall, sometimes using leverage to ... Portfolio Protection from Exchange-Traded Funds.

* ETFs Still Growing as Analyst Feels More is Still to Come
Although exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a product of relatively recent financial innovation, senior ... So far, 2008 has been an interesting year for exchange traded funds (ETFs... Although actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs) have hit the market, there is still debate as ... Now that actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a reality, closed-end funds (CEFs) could begin ...

Personal Finance Update

* Borrowing from your 401(k)? Do the math first
PERSONAL FINANCE... Personal Finance... Write to Personal Finance, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W... For past Personal Finance columns, visit latimes.com/kristof.

* Good News on Reverse Mortgages
Terry Savage is an expert on personal finance and also appears as a commentator on national television on issues related to investing and the financial markets. Savage's personal finance column in the Chicago Sun-Times is nationally syndicated. She was the first woman trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and is a registered investment adviser for stocks and futures.

* The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: July 28-Aug. 1
In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of July 28-Aug... The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: July 28-Aug... The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories: July 28-Aug.

* Money: Personal Finance Roundup
Ben Popken Money: Personal Finance Roundup.

* Social Security Debit Cards on the Money
Terry Savage is an expert on personal finance and also appears as a commentator on national television on issues related to investing and the financial markets. Savage's personal finance column in the Chicago Sun-Times is nationally syndicated. She was the first woman trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and is a registered investment adviser for stocks and futures.

* Color of Money Book Club
Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary will host an online discussion with Scott Christopher , co-author of "The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up" (Wiley), on Thursday, July 31 at Noon ET.

* Happiness in men and women reverses as they age
... adults, with respect to accomplishing goals of family life and personal finances... family life (and the desire for a happy marriage) and personal finances (including the major purchases of such material things as homes ... Plagnol and Easterlin found that women attain success in personal finance and family life earlier in life than men, so are ...

Mutual Funds News

* The Market's 10 Best Funds … Revealed
A record $883 billion was added to mutual funds during 2007, and you were likely one of the contributors ... facts are so important that they bear repeating: The best mutual funds of the past 10 years had long-tenured managers who ... Even better, seven of the 10 best mutual funds of the past decade did not charge loads -- the onerous ...

* Some mutual funds find comfort in cash
They might find their mutual funds are doing a bit of that as well... If you're an equity mutual fund, do investors pay you to hold cash. Mutual fund prospectuses generally make room for managers to maneuver into defensive areas such as cash ... Some mutual funds find comfort in cash.

* Straight answers to readers' questions about mutual funds
My father thinks I shouldn't sell my mutual funds... Your father is leaning on research by Dalbar Financial in Boston which shows that the average investor gets much lower returns than the average mutual fund... Straight answers to readers' questions about mutual funds.

* Another Black Eye For Mutual Funds
The SEC has fined a well respected Mutual Fund manager for allegedly violating its own investment policies... Grace Cheng Another Black Eye For Mutual Funds.

* Mutual funds good for long term
Equity mutual funds have been out of favour in the market since the ... few months due to the crash in the markets Equity mutual funds across the board have given negative returns during the last ... for medium to long-term time horizon for investments in mutual funds (especially equity mutual funds.

* Mutual fund firms bullish on growth
We estimate that the regional mutual funds industry had launched 55 regional mutual funds last year, with 24 funds launched in the first half of 2007... Mutual fund firms bullish on growth.

* Don't Go In Alone: Look For Top-Rated Funds To Sponsor The Stock
Those words refer to major investors - such as mutual funds, banks and pension funds - and the stocks they own... It's not just the number of mutual funds that own a stock that's important, but also the quality ... IBD ranks thousands of mutual funds by 36-month performance, assigning Fund Performance Ratings of A ...