The Fed will give its latest monetary policy decision Wednesday. How to trade it
No rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting is the consensus, but the tone of Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference after the decision on Wednesday is an unknown factor and could have major market implications. “If Powell starts to emphasize that inflation is a risk or any sort of mention of that could have […]
How you can add gold and silver exposure to your portfolio
The 2026 rally in precious metals offers the prospect of tempting returns, but investors ought to proceed carefully before they go along for the ride. Gold futures are up more than 15% year to date, while silver futures have popped 10% — but the gains have come with plenty of turbulence. Both suffered their worst […]
Mutual fund capital gains payouts are coming. Here’s how to avoid it
Violetastoimenova | E+ | Getty Images LAS VEGAS — As 2025 winds down, many investors are bracing for year-end mutual fund distributions, which can trigger a hefty tax bill for assets held in a taxable brokerage account. But there are strategies to avoid the payout, experts say. For 2025, “you’ve got some pretty eye-watering numbers,” […]
Investors lose out on 15% of mutual fund, ETF returns, researchers say
To find out how well a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund has performed over a certain period, you typically look at total return. That number bakes in a few assumptions. Namely, that you put a chunk of money into the fund and let it sit there the entire time, periodically reinvesting any dividends that may […]
How to find ETF yields as Fed preps to cut rates further
00:00 Speaker A I know you guys have seen big growth in fixed income ETFs as well, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat so to speak and with yields going lower, is that really what’s driving this interest in some of those income producing vehicles? 00:15 Speaker B Absolutely. Investors are […]
How to maximize your income now that Federal Reserve has cut rates
Now that the Federal Reserve has started cutting rates again, investors may be on the hunt for new sources of income. The central bank lowered the federal funds borrowing rate by 25 basis points — or 0.25 percentage point — on Wednesday. As that rate decreases, yields on short-term assets like money market funds and […]
How to trade record S&P 500 before it reaches bull market limit
There is more than enough focus on Wall Street about what the Fed will do next, and Friday’s weak nonfarm payrolls report will add to expectations for a rate cut. But maybe there is not enough planning among investors about what they should do to preserve the hefty gains embedded in market portfolios since the […]
These international ETFs are beating the S&P 500. How to add exposure
As markets grapple with President Donald Trump’s evolving tariff policy, returns outside of the U.S. are looking especially attractive. Several region-specific exchange-traded funds are seeing a strong 2025, far outperforming the S & P 500 which is only marginally positive this year. Consider that the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) and the iShares Europe ETF […]
The market just gave investors a gift. Here’s how not to blow it
The stock market has come full circle from its April lows, with all of the losses suffered now recovered. For investors who long defied warnings about being over-exposed to U.S. stocks, especially with the dominant position of a handful of tech stocks in the S&P 500, the rebound in portfolios is a good opportunity to […]
How to trade gold and bitcoin after the big market rally
Gold has cooled after a year-long rally that sent the commodity to a gain of 35%, but even with stocks in rebound mode, the market hedge has room to move higher, according to David Schassler, head of multi-asset solutions at fund manager Van Eck. “I couldn’t imagine a better backdrop for gold,” said Schassler on […]