It's no secret that Jim Cramer and I have our differences. Our confrontation last year on CNBC's Power Lunch generated a lot of buzz. My basic gripe with him is that he makes it appear that he has some special insight into the markets which is of value of investors. However, I'm unable to find any evidence that's the case, and lots of data indicati ...

With Treasury securities paying a paltry 3% to 4%, any investment offering twice as much seems like a yield of dreams.

Online chat rooms and my reader mailbox are abuzz over the yields of 5.75% to 7.75% offered by an unusual instrument called a "factored structured settlement" or "secondary-market income annuity." Boasting guaranteed high yields ...

As 2009 came to a close, financial advisers geared up for an expected flood of clients looking to convert their traditional individual retirement accounts to Roth IRAs this year.
Hear Annie Gasparro, a Broker's World Reporter with Dow Jones Newswires, discuss the push to convert Traditional IRA's to Roth IRA's and why so many people aren't going t ...

Minimizing taxes is important, but you can get carried away. The following example will illustrate the point.

In August 2004, Mike buys 200 shares of Google at $100 per share. The $20,000 investment represents 5 percent of his $400,000 portfolio, which has half in Treasury bonds. By December 2007, Google skyrockets to 700, making his shares wort ...

Overview: Each year, Larry Swedroe takes a look back at the investing lessons the markets provided in the past year. The market's early-year swoon and subsequent rebound in 2009 not only tested investor discipline, but also validated why prudent investing principles are important.

Investors were likely relieved to see the markets end the year on ...

With high unemployment, many people are cutting back on long term investments like their 401k and stashing the money in after-tax savings accounts. Even if you're not one of them, it may still have an impact on you. Many company 401k plans are subjected to a test that measures the contribution rates of higher earners and lower earners. If lower ...

STEVE: This is uncomfortable for me, but it's time we talked about adult toys.

The kind we can talk about, I mean: the nonessentials in our golf bags and cellphone cases, in our kitchens and garages.

Grown-ups' toys are a parent-teen money issue, I'd argue, because we send signals to our children about financial behavior when we buy big-scree ...

Disability-insurance benefits from the workplace and the government are getting harder to come by—and that's putting more pressure on consumers to purchase their own coverage in case a medical condition keeps them from working.

But disability insurance can be confusing. Policies may include conditions that make it tough for people filing ...

It is not news that many active managers underperformed the broad UK market during the 2007–09 bear market and the subsequent rebound. That is only part of the story.

A closer look shows a significant shift in leadership among active managers, based on the size of the companies they invest in and their investment style.

This observation has ...

For many investors, the market's turbulence hasn't just destroyed wealth. It has shattered their faith in the financial system itself.

Time for Bankers to Say They're Sorry3:15Intelligent Investor columnist Jason Zweig says for investor confidence to return to markets, there need to be more "perp walks," apologies from bankers and other "necess ...

STEVE: "How about we go half-and-half on a cellphone?" I asked Levi after I glanced at the refrigerator the other evening.

Going halfway on the purchase of something a kid badly wants is a tactic Karen and I have used to good effect through three sons, and here was something Levi wanted badly. Under a fridge magnet, he'd posted his birthday wish ...

My philosophy regarding most types of insurance almost mirrors my feeling for taxes. I want you to pay as little as you possibly can for the amount of coverage that you fully need. But when it comes to insuring things like your home, valuable articles, and automobiles, sometimes what you pay is what you get.

Consider the following: An $800,00 ...