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Education and Commentary

U.S. Fiscal Stimulus: Takeaways for Investors

Timing, scale, and targets of new spending are key considerations.

Federal Reserve Sees a "Transitory" Rise in Inflation

Just how transitory an expected inflation “pop” proves matters as the economy reopens amid a gusher of fiscal stimulus.

Tax Benefits of ETFs

Many investors turn to exchange traded funds (ETFs) for more transparency or lower costs, but they often forget that these assets are also tax efficient.

6 Ways to Prepare for a Long Retirement

You may spend 30 years or more in retirement. Here’s how to get ready.

Spooked by Market Declines?

Don't Panic—S.T.O.P.

Navigating the College Journey

College planning is about more than saving money. Here are some insights to help throughout the journey.

A Quick Guide to Risk Metrics

This guide defines some of the most commonly used investment performance terms.

Asset Classes & Diversification

A better understanding of asset classes can help keep your investments as diversified as possible.

Staying Ahead of Inflation

Inflation can be an investing foe. Find ways to manage it.

Is Your College Savings on Track?

This simple calculator will check to see if you’re on track to meet your goals.

Responsible Investing

Carillon Tower Advisors helps separate Fact from Myth.

Six Barriers to Investment Success

Uncovering your behavioral biases.

Start Your Plans for an Amazing Future Now

Retirement strategies for every age.

Investing Glossary

Get familiar with common financial terms.

The Estate Planning Talk

How to broach the subject of wealth transfer with your parents.

Adapting to the New Normal

Which habits are here to stay?

Navigating Volatility

Gain perspectives on short-term market disruptions from the lessons history teaches us.

What is an ETF?

How ETFs give you an affordable way to access a wide variety of asset classes.

Dollar-Cost Averaging

A strategy for market ups and downs.

How a Mutual Fund Works

Saturna’s Video Series explains what happens behind the scenes of a mutual fund.

Closed-End Funds

What investors should know about closed-end funds.

Zooming in on Inflation (FS Investments)

FS highlights inflation and the impact it may have on the markets.

What is an ETF?

ETFs include some characteristics of stocks and other qualities inherent to mutual funds, making them a unique investment structure.

How Often Should You Rebalance Your Portfolio?

American Century provides insights on why taking time for checkups may keep your investments on track.

Small Caps: Taking a Breather or Taking Off?

Aberdeen believes there are always reasons for investors to consider small caps as part of their portfolio.

ESG Investing is "Alive and Thriving"

How investors are accessing ESG today.

Interest Rate Changes & Fixed-Income

Columbia Threadneedle’s chart explains how different short-term and long-term interest rates could impact fixed-income investments.

Navigating the College Journey

College planning is about more than saving money. Fidelity can help you through the entire journey.

College Funding Calculator

Nationwide’s virtual tool helps you determine how much you’ll need to fund your child’s education.

The Benefits of Alternatives

Alternatives include a spectrum of assets and strategies, each designed to target different benefits. FS explains more.

When Will Daily Life Return to Normal?

The Columbia Threadneedle Return to Normal Index measures progress toward a post-pandemic world.

Investment Habits You Can Share with Kids

With the right approach, you can help shape how children think about investing for goals and the future.

Are Closed-End Funds for You?

Cohen & Steers’ Closed-End Fund Knowledge Center can help you decide.

What is an Interval Fund?

Interval funds explained by FS Investments.

College or Retirement Savings?

John Hancock shares top tips when saving for both.

Investing on a Budget

Thrivent shares 4 steps to building wealth on a tight budget.

Financial Checklist for the New Year

T. Rowe Price's guide to stay on track in the year ahead.

Principles of Long-Term Investing

Takeaways designed to keep you on track to pursue your long-term goals.

College & 529 Plans

The time to save is now.

4 Things to Do When the Market Drops

How to be mindful and stay focused.

Quick Thoughts

U.S. Elections, global stimulus and 2021 growth.

Coronavirus Relief Package


Learn what relief and flexibility the CARES Act provides plan participants.

What if You Have to Sell in a Down Market?

FundX's three-step process will guide you through it. 

Quick Financial Checkup

It just takes five minutes to see what you're doing right with your money . . . and what needs work. Answer a few simple questions and get an action plan with next steps for where to consider putting your next dollar.

Types of Mutual Funds

Review these mutual fund basics to understand different product options.

How Mutual Funds Make You Money

There is more than one way mutual funds can add to your income. Find out how.

Types of Mutual Funds

See what types of funds will help you reach your goals.

Federal Rate Hike and Your Portfolio

Five considerations to keep in mind when positioning your portfolio.

Making the Case for Long-Term Investing

Brian Levitt explains the value of patience when investing.

Investing in Mutual Funds

A reminder from Federated on mutual fund investing.

4 Easy Tips to Save for the Future

Consider these simple saving tips from John Hancock.

Mutual Funds 101

A reminder from Wasatch Funds on the basics of mutual funds.

First-time investor?

The goal of investing is to build wealth over time and/or to generate income from your investments to meet objectives. Learn about the power of investing and how to create a realistic plan directed toward your financial goals.

Educated Fund-Selecting

An educated investor makes the best investment decisions, but there is a lot to know. The type of investor you want to be will determine how you go about designing your financial future.

The ABCs of Mutual Funds

From alpha to bear and bull markets, get to know key mutual fund terms defined.

Can Switching to Index Funds Reduce Risk?

For many, risk and volatility only matter when movement is in one direction: down. Know the realities to help align investments to your goals.

Anticipate Before You Participate

Although the world looks messy and chaotic, this whitepaper from U.S. Global Investors folds back the layers to help investors understand what makes the market tick.

Tax Preparation Tips

Tax season can be a stressful time of year, but there are ways to minimize your frustration. Get ready for tax season with Nationwide’s tax preparation checklist.

Mutual Funds and ETFs: Key Differences

MFS can help investors understand the key differences to consider for actively managed mutual funds and passively managed ETFs.

Embracing Change Through Education

With regulatory changes, rising interest rates and discussions around active and passive investing, education is of the utmost importance for successful investment strategies. View our Learn section for updated information on how these changes impact investing.

Raise Your Financial IQ in 2017

Rather than make resolutions you may not keep, take steps to raise your financial IQ with these ten tips from Charles Schwab. 

Active/Passive: Knowledge is Power

Distinctions between active and passive investing appear at the core of the research process. Delaware Investments shares insight on how active management may provide a valuable service for investors seeking a research-based approach to controlling risk.

Which IRA is right for you?

Fidelity's Traditional vs. Roth Evaluator will help you determine which IRA will best help you meet your retirement goals. 

Dividend Growth for the Long Term

The natural inclination is to look for dividend payers with high dividend yields; however, dividend growth is a key metric to examine as well - especially as it relates to performance.

Rising Rates and the Bond Market

Legg Mason takes a look at history as it relates to past interest rate tightening cycles.

Process Over Politics

In this article, we discuss why we believe market uncertainty—electoral or otherwise—is best addressed in the context of an investment process that is objective, systematic, and disciplined.

Fixed Income Markets and the US Election: What Really Matters

Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group’s Chris Molumphy says despite the media frenzy surrounding the US presidential election, the implications for fixed income investors may be much more muted. 

Dividend Growth for the Long Term

The natural inclination is to look for dividend payers with high dividend yields; however, dividend growth is a key metric to examine as well - especially as it relates to performance. 

Are We Headed Back to the Future?

It seems like everyone has been saying we’re going to have a correction, or a bear market, or worse a recession. What do you know? The polar opposite has happened. Thus far the market is hitting new highs.

Ariel Portfolio Managers on: Risk

Portfolio manager perspectives: with Charlie Bobrinskoy, Rupal Bhansali, Tim Fidler & David Maley

Perspectives SHARE Focus on themes (not geography) in emerging markets

For investors struggling to find growth opportunities in a low growth world, Colin Moore offers two insights. Don’t write off Brazil, and don’t treat emerging markets as a homogeneous asset class.

Market Perspective: Is the Recent Rally for Real?

Stocks have moved higher over the past month, with this rally marked by better participation and breadth, but it has stalled recently.  We believe the bull market will continue, but that risks remain and bumps are inevitable.

Markets await political change

The uncertainty around presidential elections generally does not influence financial markets, but market and economic conditions can foretell election outcomes

Realities In Retirement

Women face a unique set of challenges to consider when saving for retirement. Their goals, which often include retiring comfortably, maintaining their current lifestyle and being able to cover health care costs for themselves and their family, are not always easily attained.

Mid-Year Economic and Investment Outlook

Is slower growth the new normal?

Bonds Look Globally, Stocks Stay Local

The bond market's ever-lower yields are a vote of little to no confidence for global growth yet U.S. stocks remain strong in the belief that our economy is sound. We make the case for stocks getting it right.

Emerging Markets: A Look Back at Lessons Learned

Emerging markets have come a long way since the 1990s - when shocks could potentially trigger a systemic crisis. Dr. Michael Hasenstab discusses what’s different now.

After Brexit: How asset classes may fare following the initial surprise

In the quarters and perhaps years ahead, several Brexit-inspired realities could likely shape the global investing climate. 

Does the Shift to Value Signal a Shift to Active Management?

CEO Chuck Royce and Co-CIO Francis Gannon discuss the first quarter, which saw a correction and a powerful rally, and the prospects for active management following the transitions from growth to value and non-earners to earners.

Emerging Perspectives

Emerging Markets Have More Tools for Growth in the Bag

Schwab Market Perspective: Sigh of Relief

Stocks, commodities, and beaten down sectors have staged an impressive rebound as fears of recession have abated. But that doesn’t mean the all clear signal has sounded.

Fundamentals Rule Small-Caps in 1Q16

CEO Chuck Royce and Co-CIO Francis Gannon explain why they saw familiar signs of a small-cap bottom in mid-February, what the first quarter’s dramatic and earnings-driven reversal for both small-cap value and cyclicals may mean.

2016 Outlook: Signs of Growth Emerge Around the World

Investment leaders share what to expect in the year ahead.

A Changing World of Investment Opportunity

Secular demographic trends offer attractive long-term international large cap growth potential, but capturing consistent outperformance in today’s markets requires focus.

Do Not Feed the Bears

Asian markets are getting mauled. In recent years, the emerging markets have looked vulnerable at times, but not to this extent. 

Mathews Asia Perspective: Times Like This

It is not that unusual, when investing in Asia, to see drawdowns on the scale that we have witnessed recently.

Six Strategies for Volatile Markets

When markets get choppy, it pays to have a plan for your investments, and to stick to it.

The Value of Patience

This whitepaper examines two prominent, return-diminishing investment behaviors.

Focus on Fixed Income: Summer Uncertainty Continues

Calvert believes a barbell approach is the appropriate strategy to manage volatility and uncover opportunities.

Develop a College Investment Plan

The start of another school year means your child is even closer to college. Are you ready? Janus shares 3 steps to smart college investing.

Staying the Course: How Long-Term Investing Works

History offers a lesson in the value of establishing and maintaining an asset allocation that is appropriate for your financial goals.

Is the Correction Over?

The correction may not be over, but the bull market should persist.

The Pros' Guide to Diversification

Diversify your investments to help manage risk.

Using IRAs to Reach Retirement Goals

Learn how an IRA can help put you one step closer to comfortable retirement.

5 Questions to Ask About Your First 401(K)

How to start saving for your retirement.

Don't Play in the Street-How to Properly Choose a Mutual Fund

Characteristics investors should consistently use when selecting a mutual fund. 

What Will Your Retirement Look Like?

Logistics, lifestyle, legacy: What will your retirement look like? Picture it with American Century video series.

The Advantages of Tax-Efficient Investing

Balance the impact of taxes with a strategic approach.

Planning for Retirement in your 30s

Your 30s are the decade when you begin to make big financial decisions. Mellody Hobson explains how to keep your retirement on track.